Every time someone starts talking about planes, irishrock gotta pull F-14 outta his ass! That's the one! That's his one! F-14! F-14! Lemme tell you something once and for all! The F-14 was good, but compared to A10, the F-14 ain't shit!
Ass whippings.
I want to put my request in RIGHT NOW...an F-14 Tomcat is on my wish list...please make it happen. I will pay...PAY a lot of money to ND to perform a flyover for a USC game (they'll probably only give me a Ball State slot instead, but what the hell).
(by the way, I was at 2012 ND/Michigan and some F-16 pilot really took some liberties during pre-game...he was torquing the f out that plane and was going low and really fast with afterburners on...it was something to see)
seriously, that boy was low, fast, and turning some freaking g's...it was so freaking awesome. I remember telling my son (check out my profile as I mention the flyover), "yep, irishrock jr...that pilot is really testing that airframe"
(I dont' really call him irishrock jr, but you get the point)
seemed like they flew one of each over their Stadium, one after the other.
It was one of the DavieHam years that unfortunately blend together, but I was lucky to be near the cadet who was the falconer for that majestic beast. Seeing that animal soar, swoop, and land right on the falconer's hand was definitely one of the coolest things I've seen.
Now, to get us an Irish Wolf-hound!
Dear Lord, in my next life, put me on earth to be an F16 pilot. I want to protect the Central Valley from marauding giant spiders.
the maintenance costs on the F-23 were going to be quite a bit higher than the F-22...at least that was part of the reasoning at the time. The F-23 was considered one bad arse mofo in the air.
I was in DC (working for a Rep on the HASC) when Lockheed Martin got the F-22 contract. A rep for them came by the office to give the Rep two tickets to a reception in celebration of being chosen. The Congressman didn't go to those events and I shared that with the guy..."well, do you want 'em" Hell yeah.
I had never seen so many generals and admirals in one place...you'd see them, but not that many in one place. They had fantastic food and drinks that night...it was a great event to attend.
The F-23 had a stack of "non-compliance" issues with their aircraft.
I will only address the 2 largest of them.
1. "Vectored Thrust Nozzles". This was probably the biggest. It was one of THE main requirements in the proposal. Northrop just didn't do it (in their prototype). They had some white papers on it...but nothing more. Lockheed dumped Millions and millions into solving this problem. The YF-22 had it, and is why even at a larger airframe can fly circles around an F16. They demonstrated it during the fly-off competitions.
2. Ordinance Delivery: The prototypes were required to actually launch a missile. The F-22 demostrated that...again, the F-23 did not / could not. The YF-22 had successful launch of an AMRAAM during fly off demonstration.
You can argue all day what aircraft was "better" (subjective), but you cannot argue as to which aircraft was "better built to spec"(measureable facts).
There was talk of issues with the F23 that would be "fixed in production", and the term "buy it broke, fix it latter" was used...maybe this is where your "post-sale" language comes in.
Disclosure: I worked on the YF-22, and was intimately aware/informed on how the competition played out. I would have worked on the project for decades, but they moved it from Burbank/Palmdale to Georgia.
the thread started with the F-14 Tomcat and you jumble it up with a bunch of facts when I'm just going with the legend. John Wayne, "if you've got facts and you've got legends...always go with the legend" (or something like that)
Amazing you worked on the F-22. I was stating what I was told but you have a WAY more educated view on the difference between the two planes. I know the F-22 has been pretty remarkable in way of consistent efficiency with regards to maintenance and availability. I hope it keeps to form. I do know the Lockheed guy was pretty excited because they original contract was for some 775 planes and yet (for budget reasons) the Air Force ended up with only 179 (or so) planes. I wish we had more...but I also wish we had 50 aircraft carriers instead of only 12 (I'm in KC and I wish we had an aircraft carrier at the Lake of the Ozarks...not practical, but f yeah...America)
The town, which must’ve pissed some people off.
When they go on a strafing run, firing the u radium depleted rounds, the recoil slows the plane down. A-10 pilots will tell you they love them……and love them in combat.
try and try as they may to retire the hogs, the AF just can't quit them. Remains my favorite jet and the best ground-attack plane ever.