When I was approached and asked if Iwanted to write a review for the F-14 Tomcat for MSFS, I was slightlyhesitant. Call me old fashioned, but I generally prefer to flymilitary aircraft in dedicated military flight simulators, such as DCSWorld. But having heard good things about the Tomcat, I agreed toreview it, and in hindsight, I absolutely made the right call!

Surely the F-14 needs no formal introduction: featured in manyfamous movies, like Top Gun and The Hunt for Red October (to name justa couple), it is one of the most beloved and well recognised militaryfighter jets ever made.

The F-14 made its maiden flight on 21st December 1970 and served asthe US Navy's primary maritime air superiority fighter, well into the2000's. It has also been featured in many arcade flight/fighter jetstyle of computer games, such as Ace Combat 6 & 7. With such a hugereputation and fanbase, my (and many other peoples') expectations wereset extremely high for this one.

Installation is straight forward: purchase and download the package(which comes in the form of an .exe file); and it will perform anyavailable updates and install directly to your MSFS communityfolder. After the installation was complete, I chose my preferredlivery (only 3 available at the time of writing this review), pickedmy desired runway and clicked fly.

My oh my, looking at the Tomcat in external mode whilst sitting onmy chosen runway, made my jaw literally drop to the floor - theexternal modelling of the F-14 is absolutely exquisite; with highlevels of detailing and texturing throughout. You can even see the twopilots sitting in the cockpit of the aircraft - it all looks somewhatout of place in a simulator such as MSFS; but in the best waypossible.

The high level of quality continues into the cockpit. All thevarious banks of instruments and switches have an authentic weatheredlook about them, and it certainly conveys the impression of actuallysitting in the cockpit of this iconic aircraft. The majority of theswitches and buttons are thankfully operational, and as such, onecould spend many hours simply flicking the switches on and off, justto see their effect on the aircraft and its systems.

It's a step-up from similar fighter jet offerings that are foundelsewhere for MSFS.

At this point, with not even a single glance at the includedmanual, I simply couldn't resist engaging full afterburner, releasingthe parking brake, and taking this beauty up for a fly around.

The roaring sound of the afterburner deserves a special mentionhere, as even when situated in the cockpit, the audio is highlysatisfying. When viewing the F-14 in external mode, the cameraactually seems to shake as you pan your view past the violent flamesof the afterburner - fan service at its very best!

Afterburner noise levels and effects, can literally make or breakthe jet aircraft experience, and I'm happy to report that the Tomcatsimply aces this category, as I found it to be one of the mostenjoyable features of this aircraft.

Another neat feature of the DC Design Tomcat, are the sweepingwings, as when in external view, if you punch full afterburner, youwill notice that the Tomcat's wings fold neatly into its body, justlike the real aircraft. Vice versa, once you reduce the throttle, thewings will sweep outwards again. This is so beautifully modelled inthe package, and it's an absolute joy to watch!

The Tomcat thankfully flies very well and has a highly authenticfeel to its handling. Flying from point A to B is all so intuitive;whilst also conveying a feeling of pure exhilaration and speed. It isa fun aircraft to simply jaunt around in, and it had no noticeableeffect on my sim's framerate and performance.

When banking the Tomcat, it all felt so smooth and effortless, itreally was a pleasure to fly. Of course, one of the 'must do's' inany fighter jet, is to point it skyward to see how high it can climband to test its upper limit. As such, the F-14 doesn't disappointhere; you'll be reaching the upper atmosphere limits within secondsand if you manage to stall the aircraft during this maneuverer, then'righting' it is also fairly easy - just pull back your throttle andthe aircraft seems to assist in levelling out (then whacking it backon full afterburner is mandatory!).

After a quick but all so exciting fly around, I turned my attentionto the included manual:

In my humble opinion, the manual is simply one of the very bestI've seen in MSFS so far. It is beautifully laid out and has everyfacet of knowledge and specification about the F-14, that one couldever wish for. It even has dedicated sections about things like theTomcat's arrestor hook, in which to perform carrier landings. Ofcourse, one will also find the usual take-off, cruise, and landinginstructions, that should be digested before taking the Tomcat up fora serious flight (and hopefully a safe landing).

For the more adventurous among you, the manual also givesinstructions on how to customise things like your pilot's helmet,flight suit patches and names. If you dedicate the time and patienceto this package, you can really create the Tomcat of your dreams -truly next level stuff and adds an extra bit of shine and polish to analready stunning package.

Autopilot is also well supported in the Tomcat. Reading the manualhere is a must, so that you understand the proper use of the variousautopilot systems and their desired effects in use. It's nice to seethat the aircraft supports use of the auto-throttle system, which isnot often found in other military aircraft for MSFS.

Of course, there will always be the usual 'fanboyism'; argumentsthat military fighter jet simulation should be left to dedicatedmilitary flight simulators. Personally, I grow weary of this type ofsentiment - previous incarnations of the Flight Simulator series, havesold packs such as the FSX Acceleration pack (which included militaryfighter aircraft), way before simulators like DCS even existed. Also,many flight simmers prefer to fly jets within the beautiful and vastworld of MSFS; rather than in the limited confines/regions of othersimulators.

To conclude: The F-14 Tomcat is one of the most authentic jetaircraft that I've yet flown in MSFS. It's now my 'go to' jet aircraftif I need a break from my normal GA flying. If you like your fighterjets in MSFS, then you are going to absolutely love this one - fullyrecommended!

James Huddison

Purchase DC Designs - F-14 A/B Tomcat For MSFS 2020

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