An F-14, the Navy's big, all-around fighter, pours on the coal as two A-4s from another squadron give chase. The F-14 Tomcat has a variable-sweep wing. Swept back, it allows a speed beyond Mach 2. Extended, it gives the plane a stable approach for a carrier landing.

Both the F-14 and the old reliable A-4 are two-seaters, and Bill Phillips, invited to Miramar, outside San Diego, by the Navy, logged time with an A-4 squadron as it went through its exercises over the training range.