VF-24 Fighting Renegades

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

6 months 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

7 months ago

Tomcat RIO tells the story behind this famed F-14 Cockpit Selfie

'Here’s the story behind one of my selfies that has gotten much more exposure than I ever expected. (Exposure, get… Read More

1 year ago

A Life-or-Death Experience: Former F-14 pilot tells the story of when he and his RIO had a Tomcat single-engine cat shot

“As I quickly found out, the F-14 could fly single-engine, even with full fuel and a typical loadout. Our Tomcat… Read More

1 year ago

The story of the US Navy F-8 pilots that instructed USAF F-4 crews in ACM, beat them during every engagement and made Robin Olds angry

The Navy pilots destroyed their USAF brethren, to the obvious delight of the F-8 'drivers' and the continued frustration of… Read More

2 years ago

F-14 Cockpit Selfie – The Untold Story

"The F-14 Tomcat, with its huge canopy, spacious cockpit, and two-person crew, was perfect for selfies. Here’s the story behind… Read More

5 years ago

FORMER TOMCAT RIO EXPLAINS HOW A WELL TRAINED F-14 CREW COULD FACE ALONE 5 GUTSY F-4 PHANTOMS

"As the Phantom neared the end of twenty-five years as a front-line fighter with the U.S. Navy, its aircrews wanted… Read More

6 years ago

TOMCAT SINGLE-ENGINE CAT SHOT: A LIFE-OR-DEATH EXPERIENCE

As the left engine failed and I saw the RPM tape drop to zero, I applied full right rudder The… Read More

7 years ago