Why did the blue angels choose the f/a-18 hornet not the f-14?

TAHOE REALTOR

Anywho,

Most Likely because of economics and maneuverability, the f-18 a-d models are economical for maintenance and fuel costs not too mention the technology is better. F-18 a-d models are 80's tech while the F-14 is 70's tech. The f-14 is the navies most infamous modern aircraft although decommissioned it has a legacy that will last...The only problem with decommissioning the tomcat is the loss of the phoenix missile system...I guess our new anti-missile systems are good enough to not have the edge a tomcat had with the phoenix missile system. Fleet/Carrier Protection, that was why the F-14 was designed and developed. This was their primary mission, although, they provided several different roles even including ground attack at the end of their legacy. It could knock down fighter/bombers using the exocet cruise missile and similar warsaw pact intentions. The phoenix missile system could knock down enemies before they were in range to launch there missiles at the carrier fleet or they could knock down a cruise missile if needed. Anti-missile systems have changed that, but the phoenix missile system could track and knock down up to six targets 80-100 miles away. The F-18 uses the amraaam that is an excellent missile system but only has a range of 20-25 nautical miles. The f-14 a/a radar was less advanced than the f-18 as it only sliced through the sky compared to the f-18 using a conical a/a radar. But that is why they had better radars on the ships and an awacs to identify location of targets, which is in use today as well..., but the aegis destroyer has the most advanced radar technology to help provide a watchful eye in the theatre of operations. And yes, the f-18 is more agile than the f-14, but that only counts in a dog fight, the f-14 was designed to take out targets that were not visually identified,...the threat was delineated before the enemy knew what hit him.

ducky

The F-14 was a cold war plane, buy that I mean it was designed to do one job.
Fly up fast and shoot down Russian bombers. It could dog fight like you saw in the movie "top gun" but that's because it had to, not because it was good at it.
The F-18 is by far a better plane the the F-14.
That's why the Blue Angles stuck with the tried and true A-4 Skyhawk which was one of the best planes the Navy ever had. The A-4 was better suited to the needs of the Blue Angles and in many ways was better than the F-14.

LAVADOG

in 1986 they switched to the FA/18, it was and still is the best aircraft for the job, they previously used various types of aircrafts

Michael W

haha, John W thinks the F-14 was a USAF plane? WRONG. Anyway, the F/A-18 is newer and more maneuverable than the f-14. since the blue angels do lots of turns then the f-18 is the obvious choice. and the blue angels have no need for retracting wing aircraft.

draco3838

f-14 is decommissioned and the f/a-18 has better maneuvering capabilities.

Sweetpea

the Hornet has more maneuverability. The tomcat was a dog in comparison. I had a friend who was a RIO and he said they were always embarrassed and got their asses kicked when they had their Aeriel training battles.

brian L

The F-14 was too expensive to operate and isn't as tame in close flight formations as the F-18. The other problem is the wings movement during some maneuvers would create unwanted turbulence to other pilots in the formation at different times. The other reason was the F-14 was already slated to be retired in a few years time so it was in every bodies interest to go with the new plane that had many years to go instead of investing in a plane that was due for replacement.

thatonegirl

First of all, another answerer said the F-14 was an Air Force plane. This is very incorrect. It is definitely NOT an Air Force plane, it was designed for carrier landings, so it was flown by the U.S. Navy. As for why it was not chosen by the Blues, personally I believe one reason could be the swept-wings of the F-14. Because the wings sweep automatically during flight depending on the speed of the aircraft, it would be both unnecessary and distracting for the wings to move since the Blues perform some stunts at high speeds and others at low speeds. Also, since the Blues are most concerned with entertaining air show viewers on the ground in order to increase recruiting, aesthetics are a big concern, so the focus should be on what looks best from the ground. The F-14 is much bigger and not as graceful looking during flight as the F/A-18 in my opinion, but the Tomcat is still a great plane.

Lavrenti Beria

F-14 is now decommissioned and that day was foreseen by the Angels.

emiller1998

F/A-18 is much better, newer, and still in use.

itsmeok2001

The F-14 was a huge beast, way larget than the Hornet. The easiest way to explain is that the tomcat was a huge cadillac, and the hornet a little Honda Civic all suped up. The tomcat was never designed to dogfight it was desinged to launch phoenix missiles, the Hornet on the other hand was way more manavorable and that fact is why the Blue Angels chose it.

nostradamus02012

it must be their contract with nike...

John B

Money, money, money.

Jeff M

The Blue Angels are the Navy's show boat force. They are among the best pilots in the Navy.

This force uses the most advanced aricraft in the Navy arsenal. The FA-18 is the most advanced aircraft the Navy has thus the Blue Angels use those planes. When the Naval version of the F-22 comes out the Blue Angels will very likely be among the first to get them.

Toki

the F-14 was their plane for a long time but things get old and outdated so they replaced them with the F/A-18

John W

I think that it's because the F/A 18 is a Navy aircraft, while the F 14 is an Air Force plane (which is actually going away, I believe). Don't hold me to it, though, as I could be way off base.

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