What does the guy in the back of an F-14 do?

The stick in the rear seat cannot fly the aircraft. It is like a mouse for the weapons system. It controls the cursor on the displays and can move the position of the radar and TCS (Television Camera System) and things like that.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on theaviationgeekclub.com


Why does F-14 have two pilots?

Planes like Maverick's old F-14 Tomcat had a second crew member on board to handle their complex sensor, communications and weapons systems while the pilot focused on flying.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on thediplomat.com


What does a radar intercept officer do?

Duties include operating aircraft communications and radar equipment, such as establishing satellite linkages and jamming enemy communications capabilities; operating aircraft weapons and defensive systems; conducting preflight, in-flight, and postflight inspections of onboard equipment; and directing cargo and ...
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on mymajors.com


What is the co-pilot called in a fighter jet?

In aviation, the first officer (FO) is the second pilot (also referred to as the co-pilot) of an aircraft. The first officer is second-in-command of the aircraft to the captain, who is the legal commander.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on theaviationgeekclub.com


What does the RIO do in an F-14?

RIOs were the back-seaters who operated the F-14's weapon system, were responsible for communication and navigation, and performed other aircrew duties. During a radar intercept the RIO directed the pilot, so he was “verbally flying” the aircraft.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on fightson.net


Flying an F-14 ‘I Can’t Believe It Was Legal’



Can the WSO fly the plane?

In the U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft such as the F-15E Strike Eagle, the WSO can pilot the aircraft when required, although this is typically during non-tactical portions of the mission (e.g., en route to mission area or returning to base).
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org


Can the RIO fly the plane?

The stick in the rear seat cannot fly the aircraft. It is like a mouse for the weapons system. It controls the cursor on the displays and can move the position of the radar and TCS (Television Camera System) and things like that.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on theaviationgeekclub.com


Do fighter jets have AC?

Yes. Fighter aircraft have air conditioning systems. In general, they are called as Environmental Conditioning Systems (ECS).
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on aviation.stackexchange.com


Can a pilot fly again after ejecting?

There's no fixed number – each individual is unique, as is the ejection that they endure. After ejection, a pilot will be given a full medical evaluation and it is down to that medical professional to advise whether it is recommended that the pilot continues to fly or not.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on martin-baker.com


Can a civilian fly in a fighter jet?

Where Can a Civilian Learn to Fly a Fighter Jet? If you want to learn to fly a fighter jet as a civilian, there are private programs for certified pilots to become trained and rated to fly these types of aircraft.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on skycombatace.com


What does RIO mean in Top Gun?

An F-14 radar intercept officer (RIO), Baranek whose callsign was Bio, eventually became commander of his own F-14 squadron.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on smithsonianmag.com


What does REO mean in Top Gun?

Radar Intercept Officer | Top Gun Wiki | Fandom. Top Gun Wiki. Advertisement. Top Gun: Maverick.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on topgun.fandom.com


Is there a Top Gun school?

TOPGUN, or as its official title goes, the "Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor" program, or SFTI (pronounced 'siff-tee'), is not actually a school, per se, but rather it is an instructional course loaded with schooling, training and tactics development, and it's held at the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development ...
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on allhands.navy.mil


Who sits in the back of a fighter jet?

9 Answers. Show activity on this post. All fighter aircraft have one pilot, though some have two crew members. The backseat crew member is not a pilot, but often either a Radar Intercept Officer (US Navy), Navigator/Weapon Systems Officer (USAF, IDF), or Flight instructor.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on aviation.stackexchange.com


Which is faster F-14 or f18?

The F-14 is much faster and more powerful than the F/A-18, with a top speed of 2.34 Mach, while the Super Hornet reaches Mach 1.8. The F/A-18, however, is more agile than the F-14 as it only needs one pilot instead of two.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on forces.net


Is flying F-14 hard?

The F-14 Tomcat was a powerful, complex, and demanding aircraft to fly, and those terms applied during all phases of flight. When launching from an aircraft carrier, for example, it was very difficult to perfectly align the aircraft with the catapult track for the cat shot.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on nationalinterest.org


Do pilots carry guns?

Military pilots, whether they are part of the Air Force, Army, Navy, or Marines, all carry guns. While a standard issue pistol may not be much help way up there in the sky against an enemy plane, if a pilot were to be shot down, they will at least have a way to defend themselves on the ground.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on executiveflyers.com


Are pilots rich?

According to The Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the salary for commercial pilots is $93,300 per year, which was the the median annual wage in May 2020. The median annual wage for airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers is $160,970.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on atpflightschool.com


Does a military pilot get some kind of punishment if he ejects from a plane?

No punishment can beat this! 'Ejection seats are optimized to operate at minimum speed and altitude. This is called 0/0 ejection, meaning a seat designed to perform safe ejection and man-seat separation at 0 feet and 0 Knots.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on theaviationgeekclub.com


How do pilots poop?

With Brief Relief Disposable Urinal Bag and Disposa-John Portable Restroom, fighter jet pilots have a patented “bag-in-bag” solution that takes care of any solid or liquid waste. Multiple enclosures seal the waste and odor while the enzymes and polymers break down the waste and convert it into a deodorized gel.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on briefrelief.com


Do pilots wear diapers?

Due to the nature of fighter planes - their size and the lack of stops for bathroom breaks - pilots will often wear or have access to forms of diapers. Female fighter pilots are more likely to wear diapers whereas male fighter pilots will sometimes use a piddle pack.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on pilotschoolhero.com


How do female fighter pilots pee?

Pilots put on the cup or pad beneath a special pair of underwear. When it's time to go, the pilot connects the cup or pad with a tube leading to a pump outside the flight suit. The battery-operated pump pulls the urine through the tube to a collection bag, where the pee is stored until the end of the mission.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on taskandpurpose.com


What F-14 was in Top Gun?

Despite long being retired in the United States, the F-14 Tomcat still remains an iconic aircraft to many, and the fact Iran is keeping them going is a testament to how good a job Grumman did with the aircraft. The original Top Gun aircraft will always live long in the memory.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on hotcars.com


Did Tom Cruise fly jets in Top Gun?

While they might not have actually hit the throttle and handled the joysticks, Cruise did insist that they actually go up into the air, albeit as passengers, not pilots. Ergo, he put the ensemble of Top Gun candidates through an intensive training course in the run-up to production.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on gq.com


Does MiG-28 exist?

MiG-28: a fictional aircraft flown by the antagonist in the 1986 film Top Gun. The real aircraft used to portray the MiG-28 was a Northrop F-5.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org
Next question
Do rats like cold rooms?