The last public appearance of the F-14 Tomcat

Navy news ^

[Doofer]

Because the plane, beautiful as it was, broke almost every flight in one way or another, especially the RADAR.

I was deployed to the Gulf on four differant occasions and on more than one occasion there was indications that Iranian F-14's were airborne, but we never picked up the radar signal of their AWG-9's. Additionally they never went feet wet....

[sargunner]

Dog,

A few parting words??

[thelastvirgil]

How do the Iranians obtain replacement parts? Are we so crazy that we allow Grumman to supply and maintain these planes?

[Heatseeker]

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?

I wondered about that too, which was part of the reason I asked. Any idea how many USN F-14 air-to-air kills were made with the Phoenix?

[Heatseeker]

Yeah I guess that first picture sort of answers my question. :(

[Terpfen]

Once the F-14D's are withdrawn from service, the Chinese PLAAF will have range advantages in both their a/c and their weapon systems.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.

F/A-22.

[F14 Pilot]

very poor!

[F14 Pilot]

through third parties and middle men!

they have a capable ground crew that received its trainings here in the states in late 1970s

[F14 Pilot]

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/stennis/sten-birds.jpg

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/kitty_hawk/kh-tom402ramp.jpg

[gridlock]

Anytime, Baby!

[gridlock]

That is one lethal looking airplane. Wow!

[kingu]

First time I saw a Tomcat was at eye level in a canyon in the San Gabriel forest. I was standing, taking a drink of water, coming down from Mount B. Powell. A second, there, maybe 80 feet away, were two Tomcats, and they were gone.

One of those seconds I'll keep until the end of my days. Sorry to see them go, but not sorry to see them go at the top.

Besides, Top Gun was an awesome movie. :)

[Gardener]

saw one of the very first examples at Norfolk Naval Base in late spring or early summer, 1972

I was just about to post the same thing!! I remember when the base got the first ones. Beautiful, they've always been my favorites. To watch those planes in the air is just, for me anyway, a fascinating and awesome experience.

[CyberAnt]

My favorite was when they would do touch and go's at Miramar. I was working at UTC then and I would sit outside at lunch and watch them fly. I loved the sound they made when they would make a sharp bank to the left with the wings swept back - it was a sound like no other. I sure missed it when they left Miramar and the helos came in.

[Jet Jaguar]

3 seater F-14 Ping

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Sec Def Dick Cheney pulled the plug on the F-14, but the F-18 is, and was, a boondoggle. How many full developments does it represent?

1. F-17
2. F-18
3. F-14E/F (actually a whole new plane)

Just for the F-18 development money we could have continued building the F-14 for another twenty years.

[ryan71]

A beautiful airplane...

The first time I saw an F-14 (live) was in 1980 at MCAS Beaufort. I was 14 and I sat by the tower for 2 hours waiting for them to fly over.

Later, I served aboard Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) for 3 years. I never got tired of watching the Tomcats catapult and catch wires. I spent many hours on "vulture's row", especially at night.

The AWG-9 is an awesome radar. I was an Electronic Warfare Technician, analyzing every airborne radar you could imagine. While the A-10 was built around it's 30mm gun, the F-14 seems to have been built around the AWG-9.

[Captain Rhino]

I imagine primarily through pulling parts from non-flight worthy airframes. (The Iranians do have an indigenous arms industry so you can't discount some reverse engineering of parts. Heck, Grumman may have even supplied engineering and manufacturing drawings as part of the original purchase back in the 70's.) But after nearly thirty years cut off from the primary source of repair parts, I suspect there can't be too many of them left in full up flying condition.

[fatteddy]

amen.......the end of a fantastic machine!

[usmcobra]

Oddly enough, The F-14 was one of the few naval aircraft never given to the Marines.

Sad but true.