A piece of vintage footage that looks straight out of the original Top Gun movie shows an F-14 fighter jet performing an exhilarating wing sweep maneuver.
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat was featured in the iconic film Top Gun and its sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
In the video, the aircraft can be seen retracting its wings and flipping 90° degrees.
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Compared to other fighter jets, the F-14 Tomcat has a unique design.
It features retractable wings that can be swung open during flight.
The wings are swept back for high-speed intercepts while they are spread out for lower-speed flights.
This particular feature also played a huge role in the latest Top Gun: Maverick movie.
If you want to know more about all the aircraft featured in the film, check out how Lockheed Martin built a prototype Mach 10 jet for the movie.
Normally, the wings are automatically controlled by the Central Air Data Computer (CADC).
However, the pilot can switch to manual mode and position the wing as desired.
The Rockwell B-1 Lancer, predecessor to the iconic B-2 Spirit stealth bomber also has a similar retractable wing feature to the F-14.
The only disadvantage of the retractable wing is that it cannot carry ordnance for the F-14 Tomcat.
Fighter jets are often required to carry extra ordinance on their wings, depending on their mission.
However, this limitation can severely affect the aircraft’s full capability.
While the F-14 can’t exactly go head-to-head with fifth-generation fighter jets as Top Gun will have you believe, it has still seen a lot of action back in its day.
Unfortunately, the aircraft was retired by the US Navy on 22 September 2006,
It was eventually replaced by the Boeing F-18 Super Hornet.
However, you can still see several retired F-14s on display across the US.
