I heard it was easier to fly around the boat than the Phantom, was that
true for you? And I would've supposed that the systems would've been
better
than the Phantoms too (although not as nice as the Viper- did you fly in
an
aggressor squadron or exchange?). Cheers,

I thought so. But then I always felt that the Phantom was a pretty mediocre
airframe wrapped around some fabulous engines. It was stable and remarkably
forgiving, but at it's high approach speed it was possible to get into
trouble when correcting from a high or countercorrecting from a low (then
again that can be said for any jet). The F-14 needed flying, but it had
tons of lift, tons of fuel and a 10% slower approach speed ... hard to hit
the ramp IMO. I didn't think either aircraft was particularly
unforgiving/difficult around the ship.

Landing mishap statistics favor the F-14. I've always felt that rather than
argue "my airplane is harder to fly than your airplane" its easier to look
at the stats. Unforgiving airplanes tend to generate high mishap rates and
lots of memorial services.

R / John