F-14 Aerodynamics

The F-14A had lateral-directional departures during high AOA maneuvers at transonic speeds (0.7 – 0.95).[1] These departures resulted in a stabilized flat spin at 80-85 AOA with a yaw rate of 180 deg/s incapacitating the pilot with 6g in the +x axis.[1] It also experienced a wing rock at lower speeds with an AOA of 20-30 deg.[1] The aircraft had a large positive dihedral effect which when coupled with adverse sideslip during landing, caused a dutch-roll oscillation.[1] The effective wing area is 40% greater than the wing because of the flat aerodynamic wing section between the engines.[2] A speedbrake on the upper surface of the fuselage increases drag to allow for higher thrust settings during the landing approach.[2] The engine nacelles were widely spaced.[3] The Mach 2.4 requirement required a thin wing with minimal cross section.[3] The 500 mile long-range escort mission required a high aspect ratio for efficient cruising on internal fuel.[3] Due to the wide-spaced nacelle, the wing loading during tight turns was 44-48 psf.[3] it could pull 7.5g at Mach 2 due to the glove vane.[3] It had an approach speed of 135 kts and a stall speed of 115 kts.[3]

F-14 Wing
[[Tail Volume Coefficient]]
[[F-14A Landing Adverse Yaw]]
[[F-14 Maneuver Slat and Flap on Turn Performance]]
F-14 Glove Vane
[[F-14 Inlets]]

Sources

  • [1] Renfrow, Liebler, and Denham, “F-14 flight control law design, verification, and validation using computer aided engineering tools,” in Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Control and Applications CCA-94, Glasgow, UK: IEEE, 1994, pp. 359–364 vol.1. doi: 10.1109/CCA.1994.381441.
  • F14PresS07
  • [3] PeninsulaSrsVideos, F-14 Design Evolution, (Nov. 30, 2014). Accessed: Jun. 02, 2024. [Online Video]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsUCixAeZ0A

Backlinks

[[Dihedral Effect]]
[[Dutch Roll]]
[[F-14 Tomcat]]
[[F-16 Flat Spin Modes]]
[[Spiral Mode]]
[[Transonic Flight]]
[[Wing Aspect Ratio]]
[[Wing Loading]]
Wing Rock in Fighter Aircraft