Posted on 07/02/2004 5:27:53 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
- Ens. Manuel Sanchez, VX-30 maintenance material control officer, recently made history by being the last Navy F-14 Tomcat test and evaluation maintenance material control officer. According to tradition, Sanchez took a supersonic ride in the back of the F-14 Tomcat which he said was the time of his life.
“If you haven’t heard, the world famous Tomcat that Tom Cruise put on the map with the movie Top Gun is currently disestablishing from the Navy,” Sanchez said. “We at Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Three Zero (VX-30) ‘The Bloodhounds’ out of Point Mugu, Calif., are a Combat Support Unit. The Bloodhounds exist to carry out missions in support of our naval war fighters. These missions consist of providing our naval war fighters with system improvements that enhance their ability to ‘put missiles in enemy cockpits and strike weapons through their front doors.’
“We do this by conducting and supporting cutting edge research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) flight tests of naval combat systems,” Sanchez continued. “To accomplish these missions, we provide Naval Air Systems Command with people and aircraft that contribute both unique and complementary RDT&E capabilities to our winning team. However, since the Tomcat squadrons will be going away by midyear 2006, the requirements to continue research and tests of advanced weapons and systems for the F-14 Tomcat is no longer a demand.
“The Navy’s heart and soul for fighter aircraft is now the Strike Fighter F/A-18 Hornet which is currently used by the world famous Navy Blue Angels,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez joined the Navy out of Beeville in May 1990 as an enlisted sailor and was commissioned as an officer in December 2002. He is the son of Abel and Esther Rodriguez of Beeville. He will leave Point Mugu for VFA-27 Royal Maces (F/A-18E Super Hornet Squadron) out of Atsugi, Japan, in April 2005.
“I’ve had an awesome tour here at Point Mugu as you can tell by a couple of these photos,” Sanchez said. “I gave actor Jamie Foxx a tour of my squadron and had him sit in the Tomcat. He wanted to get the feel of sitting in a jet as he was filming for his upcoming movie ‘Stealth.’ Also, I participated in President Ronald Reagan’s funeral. Being away from home, I sincerely enjoy going online (to read the newspaper) and keeping up with Beeville every Wednesday and Saturday. You guys do a phenomenal job!”
I'm not convinced that the modest decrease in observability was worth the sacrifice in unit morale that the descision caused.
We're going back to a "glossy" paint scheme on the ORION, along with full-color tailfeathers on the skipper's birds. It looks great and gives everyone a point of pride.
Colorful birds didn't seem to hurt Richthofen, or Chennault's boys. And nose art sure didn't hurt the 8th Air Force. Such displays are a sign of morale and pride in ownership, as well as enthusiasm.
I always thought that bans on such things were driven by blackshoes with an envy complex.
My personal favorite was VF-84's "skull and bones" logo.
Jolly Rogers?
Those guys are pussies.
You're biased!
I agree, it was stupid.
Whats the point of having a kick-ass CAG bird if it looks like a bucket of spit?
I thought all the tooling was scrapped. Wasn't Cheney behind that decision?
If that's the case, I pity them. However, they'll probably claim that it's all that and a bag of chips. They have to now.
I thought they were all gonna be carrier capable regardless of service assigned ?
Stay safe !
It wouldn't cost the taxpayer nearly as much if they did that.
Can't speak to the original F-111s...but in their old age they had a M1.2 speed limit on the TFR because the TFR didn't see far enough ahead to do calculations for higher speed.
That said, in VFR, I hit M1.6 on the deck in an F-model...it was still accelerating nicely, but we were out of supersonic airspace.
I'm hard pressed to believe either the B-1 or F-14 would be easily accelerating at M1.6 & 500 feet.
Gawd. That thing sounds like a real fiasco. Wonder how long it'll take the press to find out. Scandal, here we come.
Being honest don't get you promoted by LBJ, thats for sure....
http://www.jsf.mil/IEFrames.htm
OK I'm learning...... we're talking JSF 35 right ??
Stay safe LC !
Don't have the formula on hand, but roughly speaking...M1.6 x 600 kts = 960...and we were still accelerating with ease. But the ground was probably around 4000', not sea level...
Pity we can't go out over the ocean with an F-14 & F-111F and find out what they would really do! Any other model of the F-111 would lose, but the F-model had some real get up and go. And soon, the Tomcat will join the F-111F as history (Aussies still fly the 111, but not the F).
I'm getting old, Pukin Dog. I can remember seeing 150 F-4s on the ramp at George AFB alone. That's more firepower than any european country save Britian can muster - and it was just one base.
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