F-14

Cradle of Aviation Museum unveils newly restored F-14D ‘Felix 101’, the last US Navy Tomcat to ever fly

Cradle of Aviation Museum unveils newly restored F-14D ‘Felix 101’, the last US Navy Tomcat to ever fly

F-14D BuNo 164603 ‘Felix 101’ had the distinction of making the final flight by a Navy Tomcat on Oct. 4,… Read More

2 weeks ago

F-14 Pilot tells the story of when Air Traffic Controllers asked him to buzz the tower so that they could see for themselves a Navy Tomcat

‘Iowa the Air Traffic Controllers could not believe that they had an F-14 Tomcat under their control and so very… Read More

1 month ago

The day 70 Libyan Fighters were Scrambled to Intercept US Navy F-4 and F-14 Aircraft that Crossed the Line of Death in the Gulf of Sidra

On Aug. 18, 1981 no less than 35 pairs of Libyan interceptors, including a total of 70 MiG-23MS’s, MiG-25Ps, Mirage… Read More

2 months ago

‘It’s not risky at all with practice:’ legendary US Navy F-14 Tomcat pilot Dale “Snort” Snodgrass recalls his famed super low Banana Pass

“It’s not risky at all with practice… it was my opening pass to a Tomcat tactical demonstration at sea,” Dale… Read More

3 months ago

Here’s how Soviets were able to publish this F-14 “booklet” for their top fighter pilots although Russia never received any (Iranian) Tomcat

Obtaining quite good intel on the F-14 Tomcat – from the USA – proved quite easy for the KGB. No,… Read More

3 months ago

The story of when a US Navy F-14 Tomcat fired six AIM-54 Phoenix missiles against six different targets simultaneously: the six-on-six missile shot test

A new capability introduced by the AIM-54 was strictly linked to its radar: the AWG-9 had the unprecedented ability to… Read More

5 months ago

That time two F-14 fighter jets were diverted to USS Midway (the carrier’s flight deck and infrastructure could not support regular operation of the large, heavy Tomcat)

There is no information that implies an F-14 ever flew from USS Midway. The interesting thing, however, is that long… Read More

6 months ago

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

7 months 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

7 months 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

7 months 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

7 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

9 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

9 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

10 months ago

From the F-14 retirement to dogfighting against the F/A-18: former Tomcat RIO answers your questions

‘The Hornet and Super Hornet would be challenging opponents in an engagement. As a baseline initial move, the F-14 Tomcat… Read More

11 months ago

Tomcat Vs BUFF: B-52 pilot recalls the dogfights he and his crew had against US Navy F-14 fighter jets

‘The F-14 Tomcat could sweep its wings forward to nearly seventy degrees from its swept-wing, high-speed configuration and match my… Read More

12 months ago