Nov 13, 2023
F-14 FUN FACT OF THE DAY #38
Brian Kocher, a former F-14 Tomcat RIO, had this to say about flying the F-14A with the TF30 engines:
"As a RIO and later flying with nugget [junior] pilots, I had to become very attuned to the noises, pops and bangs of the TF30 when it was stalled; especially when a pilot was focused in an air-to-air engagement. Experiencing 'pop stalls' with the TF30 was a common, almost expected occurrence on every flight. So much so we had actually grown complacent to the dangers of stalls, often ignoring them; some at our own peril.”
