did you read "Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War". That book (and Boyd) absolutely skewers the F-14 Tomcat as too heavy, "lumbering & poor-performing". "The variable sweep wing design [like the one on the F-14] was one of the major aviation engineering blunders of the century" Fixed wing is better, lighter…
did you read "Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War". That book (and Boyd) absolutely skewers the F-14 Tomcat as too heavy, "lumbering & poor-performing". "The variable sweep wing design [like the one on the F-14] was one of the major aviation engineering blunders of the century" Fixed wing is better, lighter is better - like the Boyd-designed F-15 (which the Air Force still "gold-plated" with added weight and other elements that degraded dog-fighting capability.
I'm sure you read that book - if not, I highly recommend it. John Boyd was a very interesting person with a great life history.
Re: F-14 :
did you read "Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War". That book (and Boyd) absolutely skewers the F-14 Tomcat as too heavy, "lumbering & poor-performing". "The variable sweep wing design [like the one on the F-14] was one of the major aviation engineering blunders of the century" Fixed wing is better, lighter is better - like the Boyd-designed F-15 (which the Air Force still "gold-plated" with added weight and other elements that degraded dog-fighting capability.
I'm sure you read that book - if not, I highly recommend it. John Boyd was a very interesting person with a great life history.
wabuffo
I've read it, and it made me see all these classic planes in a new light (F-14, 15, 16, 18).
My comment was more about the aesthetics of it, but certainly there are better planes even from the same era (and many also aged well).