Grumman F-14 Tomcat "Black Bunny" Aircraft Model From Franklin Mint

MODERN MILITARY AIRCRAFT SCALE MODEL WARBIRDS AT FRANKLIN MINT
Modern Military Aircraft Scale Model Collectibles From The Franklin Mint

AUTHENTIC BRAND NAME WATCHES AT DISCOUNT PRICES
Accutron Watches
Bulova Watches
Caravelle Watches
Citizen Watches
Gianni Versace Watches
Seiko Watches

Grumman F-14 Tomcat "Black Bunny" Aircraft Model From Franklin Mint

Grumman F-14 Tomcat "Black Bunny" - Scale Model Warbird
Part Number: B11B237
Availability: Available Now
Approximately 15 1/2" (39.4 cm) in length; 9 1/2" (24.1 cm) wingspan. Scale 1:48.

Grumman F-14 Tomcat - Scale Model Warbird - Description

·	To enemy targets, there is nothing sexy about this bunny.

·	The F-14 Tomcat, the U.S. Navy’s legendary supersonic jet fighter is one of the most potent weapons in the arsenal of freedom.

·	Form Desert Storm to Operation Enduring Freedom; it has been the symbol of our commitment to safeguard the American Way.

·	This superb model depicts the “Black Bunny” flown by the VX4 Evaluators, the Navy’s operational testing unit.

·	It’s hand-assembled and packed with authentic detail, including the actual military markings, and variable swept wing configuration.

Characteristics

An F-14A escorts a Tu-95 Bear. The Tomcat's wings are swept forward because of the slow speed of the escorted aircraft.

The Tomcat consists of a high forward nacelle containing the radar and cockpits, and two widely spaced engines arranged around a flat fuselage that contains the variable geometry mechanism. The space between the engines allows for underbody carriage of many external stores. The F-14 retains conformal underbody carriage of 4 AIM-7 Sparrow missiles, two under the forward and two under the center fuselage. Unlike the complex swivelling pylons on the F-111B which cannot carry a full load at full sweep, all load stations are on fixed pylons under the body or the fixed wing glove, and are fully usable at all wing sweeps. In addition, external fuel tanks can be mounted under each engine. The F-111 was limited to four swivelling and two fixed wing pylons and an internal weapons bay.

The F-14 met its design goal of exceeding the slatted F-4J. Compared to the F-4, the F-14A has an improvement of 21% in acceleration and sustained G-Force, 20% increase in rate of climb, 27% increase in maneuvering capability and 40% in turning radius. It also handily beat A-4 Skyhawk aggressors simulating the MiG-17, which had caused so many problems over Vietnam and sealed the fate of the F-111B.

The flat, pancake-like section between the engines acts as an airfoil to provide additional lift, giving the Tomcat an effective wing area about 40% greater than its actual wing dimensions. This results in relatively low effective wing loading. The Tomcat also has a Mach Sweep Programmer (MSP) that automatically adjusts the wing angle for optimum flight performance, the only variable-geometry aircraft so equipped. (A similar system was tested but not used for the Panavia Tornado ADV). Movable glove vanes extended to offset the migration of the center of lift rearwards as airspeed increased, and these were even implemented on 1/72 plastic models of the era. However for maintainability, given the amount of time actually spent at high Mach, they were subsequently removed.

Unlike most variable-geometry aircraft that are optimized for fast, low-altitude attack, the Tomcat uses its swing wings forward to enhance low-speed maneuverability.

Sometimes called underpowered, it lacked advanced technology to give a 1:1 combat thrust-to-weight ratio desired in later fighters. The Pratt & Whitney TF-30 turbofans gave long range and loiter times, but were troublesome and were not well adapted for air combat; they were subject to compressor stalls in violent maneuvers or high angle of attack and provided only a slight thrust to weight advantage over the F-4 Phantom II. Once the F110 engines arrived, which had power and reliability comparable to the F-15, the aircraft realized its full potential.

Although the F-14 has been tested at speeds of up to Mach 2.4+ dashes with a full missile load, very few operations have been conducted at Mach 2. Despite the low landing speed afforded by forward swept wings and flaps, the F-14 has been called notoriously difficult to land on a carrier deck. The most famous incident was the fatal 1994 crash of Lt. Kara Hultgreen on approach[9].

The Tomcat was intended as an uncompromising air superiority fighter and interceptor, charged with defending carrier battle groups against Soviet Navy aircraft armed with cruise missiles. It carried the Hughes AN/AWG-9 long-range radar originally developed for the F-111B, which provided a fire-and-forget capability. The system was capable of detecting bomber-sized targets at ranges exceeding 160 km (100 miles), tracking 24 targets and engaging six simultaneously. This capability filled by the now-retired Phoenix missile sets the F-14 apart and has not been incorporated in any other subsequent US fighter design, even the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet which replaces the F-14, or the F-22 Raptor which is replacing the F-15 Eagle. In a now famous test, an F-14 simultaneously shot down five of six target drones. However, what was not commonly disclosed is that the drones were flying dumb profiles, not jamming or evading the missiles as actual targets would. The AIM-54 has an unusual profile of flying at Mach 5 to 70,000 ft and then diving to destroy its target, impressive but of no use in a dogfight. The AIM-54 has rarely, if ever, been used in service and only be carried by the F-14, and was retired in 2004. Up to six of these 1,000 lb weapons could be carried on special underbody aerodynamic pallets and glove pylons. However, their heavy weight only enabled the F-14 to bring back 4 on a carrier. Medium-range armament was provided by the AIM-7 Sparrow semi-active radar homing missile. The AIM-120 AMRAAM which is available with ranges out to 65 nm is compatable with almost all modern fighters (the F-14 was skipped because it is nearing retirement, and had the AIM-54), and is being fitted to Hornets and Super Hornets to give a fire and forget missile to the remaining carrier based fighters. For short ranges, two AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared missiles are carried on the outer wing glove pylons.

A significant ommission on the F-4 was a gun, which were built into late USAF F-4E Phantoms. An internal M61 Vulcan 20 mm multibarrel cannon was installed in the F-14. Some F-14s are also equipped to carry the Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS) pod, giving the Navy what was then its only manned tactical reconnaissance platform.

The F-14 was originally designed with a potent strike capability with payload and range rivaling the A-6. Payload is comparable to the Phantom, with a wide underbody and fixed pylons that can accommodate a variety of bomb loads and external tanks. But the F-111 debacle led to the common fighter community motto "Not a pound for air to ground". Planners deployed their most expensive fighters only for air superiority and fleet defense, as did the USAF, even though the ground attack capability was never actually removed from F-15s.

Only in the 1990s, after the Air Force adapted the F-15E as strike fighter, and the A-6 was being withdrawn, F-14s were fitted to carry the LANTIRN pod which enabled delivery of Laser-guided bombs. Such planes were often called "Bombcats". After the retirement of the A-6 Intruder, the F-14 was the longest range strike platform on U.S. aircraft carriers and was used on long-range missions over Afghanistan.

F-14 in fiction and popular culture

·	The Tomcat played a prominent role in Top Gun, the 1986 film about naval aviators that fly the F-14. The success of that film helped the Tomcat become the most famous fighter jet of the time, and spurred a game franchise and a surge in U.S. Navy recruiting.

·	The 1980 time-travel film The Final Countdown featured the VF-84 "Jolly Rogers" F-14 fighter squadron aboard Nimitz, and includes a memorable scene where two Tomcats from that squadron engage in a dogfight with two Japanese Zeroes.

·	A modified single-seater F-14 is protagonist Mickey Simon's aircraft in the popular manga/anime series Area 88.

·	The F-14 was the inspiration for the VF-1 Valkyrie in the Japanese animated TV series The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982–1983). In the prequel Macross Zero, the lead character Lieutenant Shin Kudo (played by Kenichi Suzumura) is a qualified F-14 pilot.

·	Tomcats are featured in Stephen Coonts' 1986 novel Final Flight.

·	The 1994 computer simulator "F-14: Fleet Defender" featured the Tomcat.

·	The F-14 appears in numerous episodes of the 1995–2005 TV series JAG. The lead character Captain Harmon Rabb (played by David James Elliott) is a qualified F-14 pilot. A retired airframe has been relocated to the airliner storage yard at Victorville Aiport for the filming.

·	Many kits of many scales have been made of various versions of the F-14. Early Monogram and Airfix 1/72 kits both had operating glove vanes as well as sweeping wings.