You Thought Cooking Your Turkey Was Tough? Try Maintaining An F-14!

Jalopnik ^ | 11/27/14 8:45AM | Tyler Rogoway

[mabarker1]

Tomcat may have been the F-14's official moniker, but its other nickname was 'Turkey.' Seeing as many of us will be slaving away in an attempt to cook perfect turkey today, it is only proper that we pay homage to the hard working sailors who had to the cook a perfect Turkey every time- those who maintained the crazily complex F-14 'Turkey.'

The nickname 'Turkey,' or 'Turkeybird,' came from how the normally super-sleek, muscular and famous fighter looked on the catapult going through control checks or on approach to landing, when the aircraft's entire trailing edge seemed to fan out into a messy moving mass of feather-like structures. Flaps, spoilers, speed brake, slats, the F-14's huge all moving 'tailerons' and its twin rudders, along with gear doors and landing gear jutting out from the bottom, the word 'busy' is an understatement for the big Grumman jet in its most vulnerable of configurations

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[Chode]

[mabarker1]

BTW, they had great queen sized bed sized main landing gear flaps!

I was at one of the Air Shows held at Bergstrom AFB (austin, Tx) and one of the Statics was a Wild Weasel Aardvark. It was a HOT Summer day (easily 100°F) and as I walked from the Nose around I look at the Main Gear and Door and there is the Pilot laying back on the Door in the shade.;)

[mabarker1]

Goobermint Demo Flight. With an Awesome Takeoff (Land).

[vigilence]

That’s what I’m talking about! One night at Nellis while on foot patrol I tried it out myself, retreating just in time to catch sight of the SAT team looking for me. The pilots of our deuces in ROK were TDY from Okinawa and when rotating out they stored their gear in the missle bays. Cool guys. Didn’t care about military protocol per se, just wanted to fly.

[mabarker1]

Why was SAT looking for You ?

[BatGuano]

Thank you!

[vigilence]

I was guarding Priority C aircraft, including F-111’s, and the job of the Security Alert Team in a patrol vehicle is to rotate contact between foot patrol guards and provide latrine, warming and chow breaks as well as ensuring guards are awake and, most importantly, responding to emergency situations with more men and firepower.

[Chode]

used to love watching them do T&G’s at Oceana

[OldMissileer]

Beautiful!