Tag: F-14D
“On the night of July 11th as we made our way across the pond, it was a horrible night for pilots ‘behind the boat’ as the deck was pitching 10 feet in both directions...,” Rich Herbst, former F-14A pilot with VF-51 Screaming Eagles. The photo in this post shows the remains of VF-51...
'Our primary concern during our gunnery passes was the fact that we were now well within the range of MANPADS. Nevertheless, we positioned ourselves for the strafing runs just under the overcast...' Craig Geron, Former F-14 Tomcat RIO Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) was a huge success for the F-14 squadrons committed to the action. Tomcat pilots and radar intercept officers (RIOs)...
On Oct. 17, 2018 “Sweet Little Miss” has arrived at its new home at the Museum of Flight in Rome, Georgia On Oct. 17, 2018 Grumman F-14D BuNo 164346 “Sweet Little Miss” has arrived at its new home at the Museum of Flight in Rome, Georgia. This jet is the last Tomcat to land on an aircraft carrier. On Jul. 28,...
"I once matched an F-14D through a double-Immelman, though at the top I was desperately stirring the pot clawing for purchase. But the Tomcat driver was so unnerved that he was off his game for the rest of the fight. It was in this way that the F-5 actualized its mission. It was a pilot’s machine that rewarded its...
ROVER capability was added to the F-14D Tomcat On Dec. 10, 2005. It was first used by VF-31 and VF-213 on their last cruise with the Tomcat in 2005 and 2006. The photo in this post shows an F-14D Tomcat of VF-213 deployed with the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) flying with the Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER) system...
F-14D BuNo 164346 "Sweet Little Miss" piloted by Lieutenant Chris Rattigan and Lieutenant Paul Dort assigned to the "Tomcatters" of VF-31, completed the last scheduled arrested landing of a Tomcat on Jul. 28, 2006 Taken on Jul. 28, 2006 in the Atlantic Ocean aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), the main image of this post shows an F-14D Tomcat, aircraft...
The original Tomcat engine, the Pratt & Whitney TF30 had the propensity to cause stalls/spins as a result of airflow-induced engine stalls The impressive video in this post shows F-14A crewmembers ejecting from their Tomcat after flat spin testing went wrong. According to former F-14 Tomcat pilot Gregory Quist comment to the video "The test center had deemed Tomcat un-spinnable when...
As Vickers started to push on the stick, he heard a loud pop, followed by a roar. He knew exactly what had happened and he transmitted, "Lion 52. Emergency, my RIO just ejected" Here's something you don't see everyday: the incredible photos in this post in fact show an F-14 Tomcat (actually the F-14D BuNo. 164341) flying without canopy.
The U.S....
While F-14 BuNo. 159600 was participating in the Tomcat’s final cruise a bulkhead would blow out during routine maintenance and the aircraft would spend most of the next few months in the hangar earning the nickname “Christine” after the Stephen King thriller The F-14 BuNo. 159600, better known among Tomcat lovers as Christine, is getting some bling at Forth Worth Aviation Museum. "We are doing...
The "last cruise" of the iconic Tomcat saw the F-14Ds belonging to VF-31, the Tomcatters, and VF-213, the Black Lions, embarking aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) aircraft carrier for a Med/Gulf Deployment in support of OIF Taken during the F-14 Tomcat's last cruise, the cool, funny video in this article gives you tha chance to join VF-31 Tomcatters aircrews aboard their...
