Posted on 10/01/2005 12:06:14 AM PDT by mcgiver38
End of an Era, the F-14 tomcat makes its final public appearance.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- The venerable F-14 Tomcat took a final bow with a boom at its last air show Sept. 16-18 at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.
The classic Northrup Grumman fighter jet that rose to prominence in the 1986 hit film "Top Gun" and has worn U.S. Navy colors since its first test flight in 1970 attracted a legion of fans from around the world at its public goodbye.
“It’s basically a bittersweet day for us,” said Lt. Cortney Kinna, an F-14 naval flight officer from Amarillo, Texas. "It was our favorite airplane. I just think it's the sexiest looking airplane out there. It's unique, big, powerful and loud."
Geert Meuris, who lives near Antwerp, Belgium, said he crossed the Atlantic Ocean to see the swing-wing, twin-engine jet fighter shake the skies in a four-ship formation and during a solo tactical demonstration.
“We don't see them very often in Europe,” he said as he stood near the flight line at the fighter's home base. “This is the last chance for us. It’s beautiful.”
Aviators who flew in the Tomcat said it stands alone.
“It had a little bit of a heritage feeling to it," said Lt. Mario Duarte, an F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot who previously flew the F-14 off carrier decks. “It is a cool thing to say that you've done. Everybody associates it with the movie Top Gun, and it's big and it looks great sitting on the ground.”
“The biggest thing about it is the F-14 has such a great identity,” said Lt. Joe Ruzicka, a naval flight officer from Crandall, Texas, who flew in the Tomcat's last public solo demonstration. "People have such a love and affection for it.”
Air crew with Fighter Squadron (VF) 32, the Swordsmen, and VF-101, the Grim Reapers, showed off the jet's capabilities before hundreds of thousands in attendance at the three-day show.
Lt. Jack Tangredi, a naval aviator with the Grim Reapers, put the plane through its paces during one of its solo displays.
“It was awesome,” said Tangredi, a native of Wallingford, Conn. “For me personally, it doesn’t get any better than that. The pinnacle of my aviation carrier.”
Radar intercept officers (RIO) said they will particularly miss the concentrated teamwork needed between the pilot and “backseater” to let the F-14 do its job. Unlike the F/A-18 Super Hornet, one said, pilots do not have the same cockpit controls in the front seat to operate the radar and fire all weapon systems.
“The Tomcat is a RIO's airplane,” said Lt. Tim Henry, a Gettysburg, Pa., native who took his last F-14 flight during the airshow. “It’s sad. I caught myself looking around the cockpit.”
Retired Capt. Phil Grandfield, of Virginia Beach, said he favored the Tomcat over the F-4 Phantom and the F/A-18 Hornet in his 26 years of flying Navy jets.
“I’m most proud of having flown the F-14,” said Grandfield, who has more than 2,000 flight hours in the aircraft and made his 1,000th carrier arrested landing in the jet. “It’s a unique airplane. It’s respected around the world.”
Even so, every F-14 air crew member without hesitation said they are ready to transition to the more modern and nimble Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, the Tomcat's replacement.
Now in the midst of its last cruise with VF-31, the Tomcatters, and VF-213, the Black Lions, aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), the Navy will retire the aging Tomcat from service next year.
I have a question - did the IIAF Tomcats come with the Phoenix missles?
Yes!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/ACHILESE/W4T.jpg
http://users.skynet.be/exotic.planes/pictures/iran/F_14formation_jpg.jpg
Where was I? Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas? They had 12 soccer fields there.
How many Tomcats do the Iranians have, and how have they managed to keep them maintained and flying through 2.5 decades of the US not sending even a single repair part to Iran? They cannot have been cannibalising parts for two and a half decades, could they? And what about the weapons?
There is no sound in the world like those planes taking off.
'Fraid so, dude. Theirs are probably junk by now, but the KGB got hold of one eventually (they got a complete F-14A from the Iranians first, courtesy of a KGB-engineered defection, but he flew his aircraft over slick), and today it's in production for the Russian AF and for the Chinese PLAAF, mated to the Su-27/30/33 "Tomcatsky" series.
Once the F-14D's are withdrawn from service, the Chinese PLAAF will have range advantages in both their a/c and their weapon systems. Not good, y'all.
Some guys kicked an idea around FR a year or two ago to purchase Russian-built Su-33's for the Fleet Air Arm as an interim measure until F-22's could begin to be delivered. Didn't think that idea would go anywhere, and it didn't.
Let's have a round of applause, shall we, for Dick Cheney, who as SecDef ordered the jigs and dies for the F-14 cut up to show Grumman Aviation how tough we were on budget-cutting? No, really. He did that. And Poppy -- an old Navy aviator himself -- went along with it. Really.
That's why there was never an "E" or "F" or Tomcat "G" model.
Now, why did Big Dick Cheney really do it? I'm all ears, if anyone knows.
And while we're on the subject of the F/A-18's being outranged and outclassed by a factor of two even before they launch a weapon, does anyone know if the Navy has successfully mated the AIM-54 Phoenix to the Super Hornet, or are we going to retire our rangiest AAM as well, to make the mismatch as complete as possible?
This is all a clever plan to lure the Chinese into acting from overconfidence, right? Somebody tell me that's right, that we've got a secret plan, or that we've already got 300 F-22's sitting under tarps at Davis-Monthan, painted up to resemble old F-18's or something.
44 air worthy tomcats!
Well, they have been able to get many spare parts through some third parties.
And they also seem to be successful in reverse engineering and have produced some AIM-54A missiles.
However, during Iran-Contra, they got whatever they needed!
However, they had tried to install HAWK SAM on F-14s in late 1980s which failed though!
Theirs are probably junk by now, but the KGB got hold of one eventually
how are you sure?
I heard he had a personal thing for the Grumman management, personnaly drove a stake throught the heart of the program....
The last time I was in the Gulf about seven years ago they had half a dozen of so. But the thing is they can still fly. The real question is can they do the mission they were designed for? I'd be willing to bet they don't even come close....
Iranians overhaul their tomcat fleet!
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