[mcgiver38]

The end of an era for an airplane that I love. I started working on it at the age of 20. It taught me many things which I use to this day. It is fitting tha 213 takes them to the end, it was my first squadron. http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=28312

[mcgiver38]

Tried to post a picture, don't do it often enough.

[F14 Pilot]

[Khurkris]

[BIGLOOK]

Bump this......to the Top.

[oyez]

Probably, the best there ever was.

[konaice]

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,

Because its that or find another job.

The Tomcat has never lost an air to air combat sim to an F18.

It was too big for the deck space, and required two to fly it. F18 was smaller and required 1 pilot. But the fist thing the Navy did was increase the size of the F18 and go to a two seat version.

[newzjunkey]

I miss watching them fly by practicing touch downs when I was a kid.

[AGreatPer]

I have no idea where I was. I have been to so many soccer tournaments they all run together. But one time there were these jets taking off all the time. Yes, it was the F-14. Many times I would lose complete concentration on my players. Thats not good as a coach. But these planes were awesome.

Where was I? Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas? They had 12 soccer fields there.

[sargunner]

Dog,

A few parting words??

[gridlock]

Anytime, Baby!

[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. :)

[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.

[usmcobra]

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

Sad but true.

[jamaksin]

And ... a very big "Thank you" to Adm. Thomas Moorer (now deceased).

[adam_az]

How sad and ironic.

My dad worked on the digital logic design for a revision of the fire control system and and IFF system for the Tomcat....

It's being retired today, and so is his 15 year old tomcat, Joey, who is suffering from liver cancer.

RIP to both!

[Old Student]

My first look at an F-14 was at Cannon AFB, NM, in 1974, IIRC. I was an F-111D crewchief there, and someone parked an F-14 in our Squadron HQ hanger. The pilot was kind enough to give us a tour of the bird, until our commander ordered it secured and guarded to keep us away from it. The only aircraft I like better was the F-4, and that has nothing to do with any reasonable criteria, just that I fell in love with the F-4's first. The F-14 is a very close second, to me. (No, I won't argue about it. It's a personal opinion, and you know what they say about those.)

[jokar]

Bump

[hosepipe]

Waste of resources grounding this plane AND the Warthog..

[evilC]

Maverick: Requesting permission for flyby.
Air Boss Johnson: That's a negative ghostrider, the pattern is full.

[VOA]

bump