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Navy Air Superiority Fighter

The F-14D Tomcat is a supersonic, air-superiority fighter. The unique swing-wing design allowed

the wings to be moved automatically or manually between 20 and 68 degrees of leading-edge

sweep. This optimizes wing area, camber and aspect ratio to enhance the aircraft’s performance.

The wings would be forward for slow-speed flight (takeoff and landing) and swept back for

high-speed (supersonic) flight.

In addition to its primary air superiority capabilities using Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles, and

an internal 20-mm gun, the F-14 provided fleet air defense with the Phoenix missile and ground

attack capability using conventional ordnance.

The F-14D was powered by two F110-GE-400 dual-axial compressors, turbofan engines equipped

with afterburners for thrust augmentation. Variable-geometry air inlets in front of the engines

controlled the air flow and speed of the air entering the engines to ensure optimum engine

performance throughout the flight envelope.

The pilot controls the aircraft using hydraulically powered flight controls which are operated by

a conventional control stick and rudder pedals. Pitch control is achieved by symmetrical deflection

of the horizontal stabilizer deflections. Roll control is accomplished by differential stabilizer

deflections and augmented by wing spoilers at wing-sweep positions less than 62 degrees.

Yaw control is provided by dual rudders.

The museum’s F-14D bureau number 164346, Block 170, was delivered to the Navy on Feb. 2, 1

992. It was last assigned to VF-31at NAS Oceana, Va. The aircraft saw combat twice in Operation

Iraqi Freedom. The first on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in a historic 10-month cruise

when the ship was diverted from returning home back to the Persian Gulf to participate in the

second Gulf War. The return to the Gulf aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) was the final

Tomcat cruise. On June 28, 2006, F-14D Tomcat 164346/AJ-110, flown by pilot Lt. Chris Rattigan

and RIO Lt. Paul Dort, was the last Tomcat to operationally trap onboard a US Navy carrier. Tomcat

164346 was last flown on Sept. 15, 2006, when it was delivered to the Virginia Aviation Museum

by pilot Lt. Roy Gordon and RIO Lt. Bill Frank.

This aircraft is on loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola, Fla