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F14A Tomcat - PART THREE

By now I was getting really tired of the model (again), so it was fortunate that I had finally reached the end of the big problems. The engine exhausts were no real trouble. Note that the engine exhaust nozzle adapters have a definite left and right side. I test fitted these between the left and right sides until I got it right, then added glue. Note that on F-14A+/B and D Tomcats (with the GE engines) the engine exhaust nozzle adapters should have all their scribing filled and sanded smooth. This area on the real aircraft is some high-tech fiber surface with no panel lines running through it. All it has is a series of attachment screws running along the edges.

A very typical parked stance of the F-14A engine exhausts has one side wide open and the other side fully closed. What happens is this. While taxiing, both engines are fully open. When the first engine is shut down, the aircraft is still powered by the second engine. The flight control computer cycles the shut down engine exhaust fully closed in a attempt to increase thrust. When the second engine is shut down, no power is available any more and the second engine remains fully open. The operating mechanism on the F-14A engine exhausts is not effected by gravity, so the exhausts remain in whatever position they are in at shut down.

If both engines are fully open (on a parked F-14A), it means they were shut down pretty much at the same time. It is rare to find both engines fully closed on the ground.

On the F-14A+/B and D Tomcat, the typical parked stance of the engine exhausts is to have both exhausts wide open. The same operational behavior occurs to the engine exhausts that occurs on the F-14A. The difference is that the operating mechanism of the engine exhausts on the F-14A+/B and D is very much effected by gravity. Within minutes after shut down, the engine exhausts are pulled open by gravity.