Of all the fighter planes to ever take to the sky, perhaps none is more recognized, more revered, than the venerable Grumman F14 Tomcat. Made popular by movies such as The Final Countdown and, of course, Top Gun—not to mention real world heroics off the coast of Libya in the 1980s and Desert Storm in the early 90s—the F14 is no stranger to attention.

But what was it like to fly? Why is it so big? Why did the A model have one brand of engine and subsequent models another…?

On this episode, former US Navy F14 pilot and RIO crew Commander Roy “SYFH” Wylie (retired) and Captain John “Cosmo” DePree join us to address these questions and many more—including several listener questions, such as the rivalry between Tomcat and Hornet squadrons, bird strikes around the carrier, the procedures for when a weapon fails to release, and large explosions.

The in depth look at this illustrious aircraft comes just in time for the Heatblur Simulation F14 release for DCS World.

For more information check out the Heatblur website:
https://store.heatblur.com/

or our DCS SME Jabbers’ YouTube channel:
   / @jabbers  

Bumper music by Slater Aiello of Jam & Slate:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/363O7...

Episode artwork by Janek Krause, using original F14 photograph by Rob Tabor.