Grumman F-14 Tomcat Owners' Workshop Manual: All models 1970-2006 - Insights into operating and maintaining the US Navy's legendary variable geometry carrier-based air superiority fighter

Having owned more of these faux workshop manuals than I'd like to admit, I've gotten used to the quality of the series bouncing back and forth from one book to the next. Perhaps the most inconsistent in quality, however, are the ones on postwar military aircraft, which tend to be rather gushing in tone and lacking in hard technical details. The F-14 was one of the most powerful and iconic fighters of the last 50 years. Did Haynes do it justice?Unfortunately, not totally. The final four chapters are perhaps the most interesting and compelling. Each is largely written by someone intimately familiar with the Tomcat - VF-101 pilot/RIO instructor Doug Denneny, RIO Bill Lind, engine mechanic Daniel Dixon, and Topgun student & later instructor Dave Baranek. The third chapter also includes a lengthy account by pilot Jon Shreiber of a deployment with VF-2 "Bounty Hunters" in 1987. Haynes usually skimps on first-hand accounts, but not here.Where it falls short is as a "workshop manual." Yes, I realize the title is tongue-in-cheek, but Haynes has delivered some superbly detailed, borderline definitive books in the past, and this isn't one of them. Roughly a third is devoted to a potted history of the F-14 and the numerous squadrons that have operated it. Interesting, but nothing that Tomcat devotees probably don't know already. Only about a quarter is actually devoted to the technical aspects of the aircraft. Unlike many Haynes aircraft books, there are no "how to turn on the engine" type checklists, very few "guts of the airplane" photographs, no maintenance schedules, no cockpit walk-around, and most disappointing of all, very few diagrams. I counted 14 in all, and except for the now-ubiquitous Mike Badrocke cutaway, they're not terribly large or detailed. Even the AN/AWG-9/AIM-54 combination, a key element of what made the F-14 such a powerful interceptor, is described in rather sketchy terms.I stopped reading this halfway through to browse through the F-14 volume in the "Aviation Fact File" series, published back in 1985. I was amazed by how much was included in that book that isn't here, including beautiful specially-created graphics, detailed explanations of how the various weapons and radar modes worked, and an in-depth design and development history. This isn't a bad book, as it contains a great number of excellent photographs and the first-hand accounts are quite interesting, but as a technical reference, it falls short.

This is the latest Owners’ Workshop Manual from Haynes (which should more properly be called an Enthusiasts' Manual), and one I have been waiting for for a long time. Even though I worked on the program three separate times, I still found some facts I hadn’t known before, so author Tony Holmes has done his research. The “anatomy” section is a bit on the brief side, but there are some good photos of the final assembly line in Calverton, and particularly good coverage of the three types of missiles carried by the Tomcat. The history of both the aircraft’s development and service are well documented. The perspectives of the maintainers, the pilots and (in particular) the RIOs are all well covered, and an excellent article about what Topgun was really like is told by well-known RIO “Bio” Baranek. Scattered throughout the book are gray sidebars showing some of the many patches that were associated with the program, though these are reproduced smaller than ideal. The Iranian use of the F-14 is covered only in a fairly brief appendix, but if the Iranians want to complain, tough nuts! This is a fine addition to the F-14 enthusiast’s library (and I certainly am one!).

I'm disappointed the book didn't have more details on proposed upgrades of the F-14, such as integration of the AIM-120 AMRAAM, the Advanced Common Intercept Missile Demonstration (ACIMD) and other proposed replacements for the AIM-54 Phoenix, and the AST-21. The book failed to include a cutaway of the F-14D, which would've been interesting to compare to that of the F-14A.

This book covers many subjects pertaining to F-14s, which some readers may prefer. However I prefer that this book more pretended to be a Haynes repair manual by devoting every page to design, mechanics, maintenance of F-14s (minus filler pages about pilot schools etc).

I own tons of military aviation books, and honestly this is one of the best. A must-have for any fan of military aviation history and certainly for F-14 Tomcat lovers. My onloy criticism is I wish the format of the book were a bit larger, but that's a minor point.

Quite possibly the greatest book about the F-14 Tomcat. When these books first came out, I hoped, prayed, and begged that they would do one on the F-14...Alas, my prayers have been answered. The only disconcerting thing that I have, is as an American, some of the British wording (programme instead, of say, program) can be confusing. But, other than that. 5 stars.

I am building a model of the F-14A and bought a few books for research. Of the ones I bought this one is the best. Well laid out, lots of clear pictures and concise history. Now if you think it is an "owners" manual, it is not. That is just a clever marketing technique, it looks like a car shop manual you may get at the auto parts store!

Bought this for my Dad who is a former F14 RIO, he loved it and read every word, looked at every picture which brought back some good memories and times for him.

With a collection of authors, some sections worked. Others got bogged down in a mass of abbreviations which held up understanding. The series seems to have diverted from information for the amateur to a quick run through for experts.

Book arrived very quickly. Generally good although binding a bit squashed and it has a sticker that can’t be removed from the back..

Must buy for me as an F-14 fan. Haynes don't do poor books.

Excellent book for getting modelling detail ideas from.

Great read, really enjoyed from cover to cover