At my site I take part in the bizarre activity known across the 'sphere as "Friday Cat Blogging". But since cute little kitties aren't really Murdoc's thing, I give it my own little twist. Here's a sample:
Aren't they just so precious?
The F-14 Tomcat made its final public appearance as an active part of the Navy over the September 17th weekend in an air show at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.
More:
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.The Tomcat will be retired after the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT returns from her current deployment to the Persian Gulf area next spring. The last two Tomcat squadrons,“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."
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 AIM-54 Phoenix missile, the Tomcat's long range 'fleet defender' missile, was retired about a year ago, leaving the AIM-120 AMRAAM as the longest-range air-to-air missile in the Navy's inventory.“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.”
UPDATE: I had originally misidentified the two squadrons aboard the ROOSEVELT. They're really the VF-31 "Tomcatters" and VF-213 "Black Lions". I mistakenly listed the two squadrons which performed at the air show, both of which have just turned in their 'Cats. Hat tip to commenter Robin for the correction.
Also posted (with many more pics) at Murdoc Online.
Now THAT'S what I call Friday cat-blogging!
Now THAT snuck up on me! I had no idea the F-14 was about to be retired. How times change. I remember back in high school when there were still Skyhawks and Corsairs poking around. Now we are a generation beyond that.
What a sad time, it is a great airplane. I and many others learned our lifes trade on this airplane, it took a lot of work to keep flying but what it taught us was priceless.
Thx for the photos Murdoc. I've been an avid fan of aviation for as long as I can remember. The retirement of the F-14 Tom Cat certainly puts a tick mark in the annals of aviation much like the retirement of the SR-71. I wonder how long it will take before they put one in the National Air and Space museum here in the Dulles Corridor. For those that have a penchant for flight it certainly is worth the visit. Of the most awesome sights of planes in flight the Concord rates up near the top. I would sit outside on the deck with the wife and kids to watch it come in once a week. Yes it shook the house, rattled the windows and drowned the sounds of daily life out. None the less it was and still is an awesome sight to recall.
The last of the Grumman's "cats", widely known because Top Gun, though in Europe are remembered with regard for the dogfights against the Lybian Su-22 in 1981 and Mig-23 in 1989.
Anyone who doesnt think a machine can be a thing of beauty better recognize. Tomcats are flat out mean looking. Hornets are cute, but F-14s are hot.
Yeah, right on! Maybe we can get some pix of the F-14s swooping down and lighting some kitty ass on fire with a well-placed JDAM!
That'll teach those lefty bloggers to embrace soft fluffy things when we all know that the only way to survive in this world is kill or be killed.
Then the only F-14s remaining in the skies and in active duty will be Iranian Tomcats!
Btw, this was a great post!
One minor correction: the last two F-14 units will be VF-31 "Tomcatters" and VF-213 "Black Lions", both flying F-14Ds. VF-32 is in the process of shutting down, and VF-101 (the Tomcat RAG) disestablished earlier this month.
#7 Meeeow:
Embracing soft fluffy things is what cats do. Then they eviscerate them. Have a nice day. :)
Winston is correct. Iran still flies some of its F-14s - and he could also tell you that the plane's most noteworthy feats of battle belong not to Operation El Dorado Canyon or any U.S. engagement, but to the Iranian F-14s during the Iran-Iraq War.
The list of dead Iraqi & Russian aircraft at their hands was long and impressive, and it got to the point that the Iraqis would wait for Iranian F-14s to leave an area before they would fly. Its value as an intimidator platform in that conflict actually has lessons and implications for the present day, as America contemplates its future force posture in the Quadrennial Defense Review.
Thanks to their powerful AWG/9 radar and fire control system