F-14 Tomcat

Tomcat RIO tells the story of when he and his pilot destroyed a supersonic target drone by means of an AIM-7 fired by their F-14 flying at more than Mach 1

Tomcat RIO tells the story of when he and his pilot destroyed a supersonic target drone by means of an AIM-7 fired by their F-14 flying at more than Mach 1

“Halfway through the turn my “radar lock” lights went out. I had messed up the intercept! ‘Broke lock,’ I growled… Read More

4 days ago

The story of Joe “Hoser” Satrapa, the F-14 Tomcat pilot who scored two simulated gun kills on two USAF F-15s for two times in the same mission

To add a little more insult to his adversaries’ loss, Lt. Commander Satrapa impersonated a junior grade lieutenant during the… Read More

1 week ago

Tomcat RIO tells the story of Pat O’Brien, the Civilian Engineer that Made Dozens of Flights in the F-14, F-4, TA-7, and Others

After working as a college intern at North American Rockwell, Pat O’Brien decided he wanted to be in flight test.… Read More

2 weeks ago

F-15 maintainer explains why even though NASA equipped an Eagle with an AIM-54 the USAF Never Outfitted its F-15 fleet with the mighty Phoenix

The odd photos in this post show an F-15 Eagle fighter jet carrying an AIM-54 Phoenix long-range air-to-air missile. The… Read More

3 weeks ago

US Navy Test Pilot tells the story of the F-14 Tomcat Fatal Flat Spin Mode That Was Never Supposed to Happen

‘Within seconds the F-14 Tomcat rotation rate shot up to 180deg/sec and g forces reached 7.8g eyeballs-out! My head was… Read More

3 weeks ago

“We reached 18,000 feet in less than thirty seconds!” Tomcat RIO tells the story of when on his third F-14 flight his pilot did a memorable unrestricted climb

“I looked at our rapidly increasing airspeed as we neared the end of the runway, and Crush yanked back on… Read More

4 weeks ago

Delay and Disrupt Doctrine and strict Rules of Engagements: why US Navy F-14 Tomcats engaged less MiGs than USAF F-15s during Operation Desert Storm

No doubt, ROEs favoured the USAF F-15C crews. However, this did not mean that the US Navy F-14s did not… Read More

4 weeks ago

Tomcat RIO Recalls when He and His Pilot had to Eject from their F-14 because the Arresting Gear Failed when They Landed Aboard the Aircraft Carrier

It was later determined that the mishap was caused by one of the four cables was not set to the… Read More

1 month ago

Because I was Inverted! Tomcat RIO who took part in the making of Top Gun tells the true story behind the famous scene where Maverick and Goose’s F-14 flies inverted above the black two-seat F-5F (AKA MiG-28)

‘Of course, for safety reasons there wasn’t any aircraft flying inverted one above the other, and that iconic scene was… Read More

2 months ago

Tomcat RIO tells the story of when he and his Pilot flew to Beale AFB in their F-14 to discuss “operational matters” with SR-71 Blackbird crews

“We learned about the SR-71’s missions and capabilities. The SR-71 crews were very professional, and they respected us fighter pukes… Read More

2 months ago

US Navy F-14 Tomcat RIO tells the story of when he and his pilot intercepted a Concorde during Operation Desert Shield

‘As we swung our nose in the direction of the vector we got, I got an immediate lock on an… Read More

3 months ago

In late 1970s the British MoD concluded that the F-14 was the only fighter that could meet Britain’s defence needs but RAF never bought the Tomcat. Here’s why.

The prospect of an RAF F-14 Tomcat buy was discussed. One method of lowering the bill might have been to… Read More

3 months ago

Clarence Alfred Gilyard Jr., aka LT.(JG) Marcus “Sundown” Williams who briefly served as Maverick’s RIO in Top Gun, passed away

Born on Dec. 24, 1955 Clarence Alfred Gilyard Jr. was best known among The Aviation Geeks, as Top Gun’s Radar… Read More

3 months ago

US Navy F-14 Pilot explains how he was able to Land his Tomcat Without Canopy after his Backseater erroneously Bailed Out

The incredible photos in this post show an F-14 Tomcat (actually the F-14D BuNo. 164341) flying without canopy. Advancements during… Read More

3 months ago

Tomcat RIO tells the story of Santa Brutus, VF-211 Fighting Checkmates F-14 featuring Christmas-Theme Markings

The tails of the F-14 Tomcat featured the character from the squadron logo, who we called Brutus, dressed as Santa… Read More

4 months ago

Former F-14 RIO tells the story of when he and his pilot outran a USAF F-15 aggressor during a TOPGUN mission with their “Bombcat” fully loaded

“We loaded an F-14B Tomcat with 4 x MK-83 in the tunnel, 2 x drop tanks, 2 x AIM-7 Sparrow… Read More

4 months ago

From doing a flyby of the tower at over 400 knots to ejecting from an F-14: former Tomcat RIO answers your questions

‘I have actually done a fly by of the tower at over 400 knots…and I have photos to prove it,’… Read More

4 months ago
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