Updated Panel And FDE Package For Grumman F-14B Tomcat

By Victor Knight (11 May 2004)

   

John Schumacher's panel also comes with a new updated and accurate FDE file which features real world F-14B specifications, editable ordinance weights, and has all specifications listed in the FS2004 kneeboard. One of the flaws with the original simulator version that this new FDE corrects was that approach to landing had to be made at a speed of 185 knots. This was much too fast, and quite unrealistic. One of the best features of the Tomcat was that its landing speed was considerably slower than previous Navy planes.

   

To test the new FDE, I suggest you make a landing in true to life manner. Normal procedure is to use a tear drop descent, making an upwind pass up the wake of the carrier. Speed should be at 300 knots with the wings swept fully back. Passing the carrier make careful note of the ship's course, break about a mile ahead of the ship using a 60 degree left bank. Pull back the throttles to idle. In real life, at this stage the pilot places the wing sweep into automatic. Simulator pilots will need to do this manually as the simulator version does not have this feature. As the wings sweep forward the speed brakes would normally be employed. If this action has been selected as a method of arresting the aircraft during a carrier landing, be aware that doing this will cause you to drop out of the sky! About midway in the turn, extend the landing gear and tailhook, rolling out on the reciprocal heading about one half mile abreast of the carrier for the downwind leg. At 200 knots extend the flaps (on the simulator version this is automatic with the forward sweep of the wings). Abeam the midway point of the ship begin the final turn using a 20 degree bank. At the midway point you should catch sight of the ball. Landing approach speed should be 133 knots. Some pilots add 10% for the wife and kids. Use the autopilot to set the speed. In real life there is a spoiler system that assists greatly in flying the ball with small adjustments to the approach. A program by Tony Bolton that imitates this is included with the download. All carrier landings are little more than controlled crashes with the pilot selecting full power on landing to enable a take off should the aircraft not catch a wire. It all sounds rather difficult, and it is. The huge carrier appears so small on the vast ocean, that is until you are about to land, when it once again becomes a giant. As with all things, practice makes perfect, and you will need to practice, practice, practice, until it all begins to feel right.

   

The autopilot is updated for fighter models with tighter turns, and minimal overshoot. The FDE also includes the latest effects for the model. The aircraft performed very nicely during the different flights I undertook, including carrier landings. There are very nice afterburner effects plus a whopping BOOM when passing through the sound barrier!

The Tomcat, that sleekest of felines, designed as an all weather day or night interceptor, had some problems during its early days, mostly caused by being severely underpowered with less than reliable Pratt & Whitney TF-30-P414A engines. These engines had a habit of experiencing a compressor stall at high angles of attack if the throttles were moved, especially in afterburner, causing a flame out. (Been there done that, but thank God not in a F-14!)

On the Tomcat the twin engines are some nine feet apart. In the event one engine fails, the resulting asymmetric thrust with one engine in full military power and the other dead, is devastating. The yaw, of course, is toward the bad engine, but the Tomcat also had a nasty habit of rolling toward the dead engine. If the pilot attempted to counter this with aileron control instead of rudder, it had a frequent tendency to enter into a flat spin. Even General Chuck Yeager left the warm comfort of a cockpit once due to a flat spin. The rate of spin increases rapidly subjecting the aircrew to as much as 6 g's. This makes ejection extremely dangerous; a broken back being almost certain. That is if you were fortunate enough to not collide with the canopy which tended to stick around, hovering above the crew. Collisions of crew members with canopies during ejection killed a number of Navy aviators during the Tomcat's early days. Maybe this earned the Tomcat the nickname of Turkey. The latest version certainly doesn't suffer in this department. The twin F14B/DiF110-GE400 turbines with afterburning develop over 54,000 lbs. of thrust. Unlike the simulator version, in real life the F-14 does not use afterburners for a catapult launch from a carrier. To do so would exceed the Vne with the landing gear extended.

   

John's new panel includes a Heads Up panel that is nicely laid out. Its big feature, to my mind, being its ability to call up a number of add-on programs developed for fighter aircraft with transparent hotspots. The Heads Up Display ladder, brightness, and meatball display are all right at your finger tips using buttons to the right of the canopy.

FSNavigator control switches are in the Heads Down and RIO panels with active lights for Execute plan, Mode 1, Mode 2, Next waypoint, Previous waypoint, and Hold on all three panels in the autopilot section: The FSNavigator HSI and three way GPS switch can be used in FS2004 GPS mode, and FSNavigator modes. They will act as dumb switches if FSNavigator is not present.

A nice feature is that John has not forgotten GIB, (the Guy In Back). A great RIO (Radar Intercept Officer) panel gave me many hours of fun. Using the radar one can chase down all kinds of neat aircraft aloft (FSUIPC required). In addition to an aircraft labels switch that toggles the ATC ID of AI aircraft, included is a chase view switch that opens a spot view window that can be moved to anywhere on the panel. Click on the new window and use Ctrl-W to toggle AI aircraft. Also when in multiplayer or flying online, you can use multiplayer commands to show MP aircraft in the same window. Use the right mouse key to select map and other views. Both of these switches are located above the HUD plus altitude and distance are displayed. There is a catapult and arrester cables control, and using FSNavigator, autoland on a carrier is possible.

   

It is all very pleasing and nicely laid out. Included is a fuel computer, Apollo GPS, TCAS Radar, TCAS HUD, Meatball HUD, mini panel, and GPWS pull-up warnings. All HUD functions work together with collective integration.

There are three versions of the Tomcat to choose from: VF-32 "Swordsmen", VF-102 "Diamondbacks" and VF-103 "Jolly Rogers" high-visibility birds, and many more may be downloaded from the FlightSim.Com library. I did suffer quite a frame rate hit using this panel, but it is definitely a favorite. Be sure to download John's update of the RIO panel F14B_DN.ZIP using 8 bit 256 color rendering, it helps a lot.

   

The Tomcat could not reach this level of detail without the contributions of many talented individuals. So often we take their work for granted, In addition to those already mentioned, thanks go to: Eric Marciano for F16 TCAS Radar & TCAS HUD; M.A.T.S. for Panel Images & FDE Specifications; Chris Willis for FS9.cfg tips; Doug Dawson & Rob Barengdregt for Carrier Integration Gauges, Meatball HUD, XML Gauges & Special Effects; Keith Giveans for Apollo GPS; Nick Needham & Jan Rosenberg for Special Effects; Bluesky for GaugeSound.dll; Chris Trotter for Ordinance Effects (Combat Simulator); Flight Sim Developers for numerous gauges; Peter Beddig for FSNAV.EHSI and more; Richard Probst for rp_trim; Robert K. Guy for RKG_buttons; Atsushi Terui for Fuel XML Code; Kari Virtanen for Mirror XML code; Chuck Dome for fighter gauges (Modified); Tony D'Ambrosio for se.ta.clr.fmc (Modified); Jorge Sales for cpt.toggles; Tom Corson & Roy Chaffin for Fuel Status Computer; Roy Chaffin for JS-Switches; Wade C. Chafe for 737.WCGPWS; Erasmo Mazzeo for MILITARY.CONFIG; Melville Consulting for aa5_oat; Fernando Almeida for MACH3D; FPDA for FPDA.FLSW fpda.fire; Dragon Flight Design for Generator Lights (Modified).

Victor Knight
VictorKnight@msn.com

Download John J. Schumacher's Grumman F-14 Tomcat panel and FDE package
Download Dino Cattaneo's F-14B aircraft
Download repaints of the F-14B