I don't know how this fact escaped me, but I never knew the Tornado was a swept-wing a/c - and I have always admired the Tornado for its dangerousness-look.

How are the outer wing pylons positioned in flight? They must turn as the wing geometry changes, or have I totally gotten it wrong? The F-14 Tomcat doesn't have any outer-wing pylons because of this fact (or have I totaly lost it??)

I better sit down, before I fall down....

Hi Brian, yes the wing pylons are designed to pivot as the wingsweep is adjusted. This keeps the aerodynamic drag to a minimum.

I don't know why, but that seems like it would be a weak point. Since it has been in use so many years I guess it wasn't a problem at all. That has got to be a lot of stress on the mechanisms...