At the time they were trying to convince the FAA that they should have an unrestricted license. The FAA wasn't buying it even though the engines were like 14 inches apart. It was a standing bet in the Miramar FSDO that every time an F-14 jock came in with his NATOPS manual the over/under on the number of minutes before he'd be whining about the "Centerline Thrust" limitation.

P.S. I still can't figure out how to do a flat spin "out to sea." There's some time/space continuum aerodynamics for you.