First time writer. Gorilla: We use an APU driven by an accumulator bottle. Very good started, but sometimes WE have to jump down and pump up the bottle (like on those cold desert mornings starts after a long weekend of sitting). It's nice going on the road in an aircraft that is completely self sufficient (well except for the bit of hydraulic fluid we'll have to dump into her after about the 8th sortie or so). The Hornet is a great slow speed fighter, can swap ends from 90 - 400 kts. Get us slow though, and we bleed trying to get past the 250 kt hump. Our stabs (which should have been built just a little bigger - IMHO) are great. Love to fight the Viper, that's a Mono v Mono game. They know where to fight us, we know where not to go, so it's all about who can force the other guy off his game (I know you know how to "read" this statement). But when they come into the merge with a very aggressive split, forget about, I am bingo expendibles trying to tally -2. .... I just deleted a lot after I saw where I was going with this. Sorry for the ramble.
I only fought an 15 on one event. Must never have heard the F3, as I was probably trying to get radar SA drooling into my cup. So as I was turning, I was really a "white" fighter making tons of noise
The 15 is a big airplane (as I am used to fighting Hornets & Vipers), so the merges were closer than I think anyone wanted -- I was also young and dumb, so I made a lot of mistakes I've since learned from. F-14 were the easiest to beat on I thought. Not because of their performance per se, but they smoke and are easy to see / maintain SA to (this is one of the hardest aspects of fighting Vipers or F-5s, damn impossible to see / assess; I swear the F-5 has a cloaking device once he comes nose on -- it becomes a mental timing deal of when you should start turning looking for the planform F-5). With the Tomcat, I could effectively fight one guy, rapidly assess -2, jam his shots, continue on, ... this of course was after the student body left Phoenix D (add in their fuel ladder, ...). I digress and that too was many years ago. I consider myself a youngster (at least with experience), but I do have just over a complete year in combat. We would never be used in an air-to-air role. We have too many tools that give us a bad name, and are way outsticked by a bunch of the dudes already rambling in here. I'm more a GBU/Rockets & guns dude now. Going back in a couple weeks to boot. Gotta run, fly safe!
s/f,
Cruncher
I only fought an 15 on one event. Must never have heard the F3, as I was probably trying to get radar SA drooling into my cup. So as I was turning, I was really a "white" fighter making tons of noise
The 15 is a big airplane (as I am used to fighting Hornets & Vipers), so the merges were closer than I think anyone wanted -- I was also young and dumb, so I made a lot of mistakes I've since learned from. F-14 were the easiest to beat on I thought. Not because of their performance per se, but they smoke and are easy to see / maintain SA to (this is one of the hardest aspects of fighting Vipers or F-5s, damn impossible to see / assess; I swear the F-5 has a cloaking device once he comes nose on -- it becomes a mental timing deal of when you should start turning looking for the planform F-5). With the Tomcat, I could effectively fight one guy, rapidly assess -2, jam his shots, continue on, ... this of course was after the student body left Phoenix D (add in their fuel ladder, ...). I digress and that too was many years ago. I consider myself a youngster (at least with experience), but I do have just over a complete year in combat. We would never be used in an air-to-air role. We have too many tools that give us a bad name, and are way outsticked by a bunch of the dudes already rambling in here. I'm more a GBU/Rockets & guns dude now. Going back in a couple weeks to boot. Gotta run, fly safe!s/f,
Cruncher
