The F-14 Tomcat may be the most pined for military aircraft of a generation. When talking to senior Navy officers we've heard more than once how some admiral is always going on about how much they miss flying the F-14.
They say the F-18 just doesn't compare; the newer Hornet lacks the '14's power, maneuverability and apparently it's simply a whole lot less fun to fly. One officer laughed and told us her admiral goes on about the "F-14 days, like a little girl."
It's nothing new; those first couple thousand flight hours in a fighter likely fail to ever compare with anything else. Perhaps they can't, because the generation before the Tomcat, who flew the F-8 say, the exact same thing about "their" jet.
The F-14 was the first in the America's series of 'Teen Fighters.'
The Tomcat was developed to challenge decades of competition with Russia's MiGs.
It was a supersonic, twin engine, duel seated beast of the skies.
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