Com-Central.net

It looks like the F-14 will only be flying in Flight Sim games from now on.

News report by Petty Officer 1st Class Stefanie Holzeisen-Mullen, USN American Forces Press Service.

Virginia Beach, VA. March 10, 2006.

The "Tomcatters" of Strike Fighter Squadron 31 (VF-31) and the "Black Lions" of Strike Fighter Squadron 213 (VF-213) were deployed with Carrier Air Wing 8 embarked on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt ended the LAST F-14 deployment when they returned to Virginia Beach.

The Navy is retiring the F-14 not because it is to old. It is being retired because it takes "three to four times more maintenance man-hours per flight hour to maintain than the newer Hornet."

Yep, I read that too Sabre45. I guess some things must end at some point and the F-14 has left an unmistakable mark in the world...

What would have "Topgun" been without the Tomcat?
(... and the Steve Stevens theme of course)

Viper: Good morning, gentlemen, the temperature is 110 degrees.
Wolfman: Holy sh t, it's Viper!
Goose: Viper's up here, great... oh sh t...
Maverick: Great, he's probably saying, "Holy sh t, it's Maverick and Goose."
Goose: Yeah, I'm sure he's saying that.

Maverick: Requesting permission for flyby.
Air Boss Johnson: That's a negative ghostrider, the pattern is full

Stinger: Maverick, you just did and incredibly brave thing. What you should have done was land your plane! you don't own that plane, the tax payers do! Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash. You've been busted, you've lost your qualifications as section leader three times, put in hack twice by me, with a history of high speed passes over five air control towers, and one admiral's daughter!
Goose: Penny Benjamin?
[Maverick shrugs]
Stinger: And you a**hole, you're lucky to be here!
Goose: Thank you, sir.
Stinger: And let's not bull**** Maverick. Your family name ain't the best in the Navy. You need to be doing it better, and cleaner than the other guys. Now what is it with you?
Maverick: Just want to serve my country to be the best pilot in the Navy, sir.
Stinger: Don't screw around with me Maverick. You're a hell of an instinctive pilot. Maybe too good. I'd like to bust your butt but I can't. I got another problem here. I gotta send somebody from this squadron to Miramar. I gotta do something here, I still can beleive it. I gotta give you your dream shot! I'm gonna send you up against the best. You two characters are going to Top Gun.

-S-

Some smart rich business types should buy them and sell rides...I would pay..sad to see a bird like that hit an early grave...loved watching them at airshows.....

Hammer

[img][/img]This what I posted on the previous page concerning the retirement of the F14.
I noticed in an USA Today article in Fridays edition, that the Navy is retiring the F-14 Tomcat, after 32 years of service. Its replacement the F18E/F Super Hornet has a 214mph slower top speed, and costs 24.6 Million dollars more than the F14's cost when new, (47.3 mil for the F14 in 1974 VS 71.9mil for the F18 in 1999). Seems that the F14 costs to much to repair. An F14 requires 50 hours of maint for each 1 hour of flight, versus 5-10 hours of maint for the F18. Also mentioned was the fact that the F14 was aimed at dogfighting, (as in top-gun fame) but that it is no longer needed since jets now shoot missiles at each other from miles away. The last F14 to fly a combat mission was February 8th, when Cpt. William Sizemore flew over Iraq with another F14 from the USS Theodore Roosevelt and dropped bombs. The F14 is being called the "last of the pure fighters". Do you supposse that a bunch of F14's will end up at China Lake as targets? What a sad fate for such a wonderful bird.

~S~ All
It is a shame to see this bird go.
About the fifty man hours the Navy claims it takes for maintinance you have to understand what they mean.
When the Navy says it takes Fifty man hours to work on this plane after one hour of flight, what they mean is that they have 10 mech working for five hours on this thing, or five mech working for 10 hrs. (each man invests five or ten hrs of svc = 50 man hrs).
Facter in coffee breaks, smoke breaks, (for the avg sailor that smokes that is every 15 min) and standing around bulls###ing and you have about three hours invested in rountine maint.
But I am willing to bet that we will see the F-14 flying for a long time to come considering we will sell or give a few of these to our allies which in turn will sell them to our enemies.
Which means the USN might have to deal with the F-14 fm the buisness end of this plane.

All BS in my opinion, the USAF flys the living hell out of the F-15 Eagle which was introduced 1 year later than the Tomcat. Does the the Eagle require the same maintenance issues and why is it still flying its role as the USAF air superior fighter?
It's an aircraft the same era but nobody says anything about man hours, maintenance or its problems ,when in fact it keeps getting better up until the F-22 takes command.

Yet The Navy make the damn bug plane (aka Hornet) which is a total POS when it is put side by side with the F-14B or D model.
Grumman made the Block 21 model of the Tomcat designed for the 21's century but its fate was axed by Cheney because of his dealings with Boeing Aircraft... Pure coincidence?? I think not.

It is not cheaper to send up a lesser aircraft for the price of security!!

There was this huge stink about making all of the changes to the New radar and replacement of motors for the Tomcat but in fact they were already planned and produced; it was just a matter of signing the approval and would have updated the Tomcat for the 21's century but it was too easy... wayyy to easy.
And the The Navy had left-over A-6 engines and needed to dump them into the new Hornet for economic reasons but found out they were junk and the aircraft spent more time refuling than dropping bombs or dogfighting. Now the Hornet has been completely redesigned and is becoming a costly aircraft to fly with all of the different platforms which is ever changing..

Any F-14D AF21 vs any latest Hornet or two of them in any scenario the Tomcat wins every occcasion .. I would have kept the A-6s for their happy marriage and data link potential, but the the Navy pissed them away for the Super bug?

It's a sad ordeal when an Aircraft which was first used by the US Navy in 1972 that is retrofitted with current avionics, radar, missiles, and engines can dominate the latest and greatest Hornet without skipping a beat.

From what I remember of the movie "Top Gun" it was basically rubbish!

Best and Warm Regards
Adrian Wainer

„Ik val aan, volg mij!�
Rear Admiral Karel Doorman Royal Netherland Navy
Battle of the Java Sea 1942

Frankly I could not argue the merits of a Hornet versus a Tomcat, what I could say is that the Navy's decision to retire the Lockheed Viking is beyond stupid!

Best and Warm Regards
Adrian Wainer

„Ik val aan, volg mij!�
Rear Admiral Karel Doorman Royal Netherlands Navy
Battle of the Java Sea 1942

I was lucky enough to be working down in San Diego when the Tomcat was at Miramar... Was haad enough concentrating on work, but when you've got 80 degrees, women in bikini's and F-14's roaring off the end of the runway - man that was a tough assignment...


H

- Adrian_Wainer

From what I remember of the movie "Top Gun" it was basically rubbish!

The movie or the F-14?

NS38th_Aristaeus
wrote

The movie or the F-14?

Good question!

Answer: The movie of course!

If I remember rightly that blond bimbo is lectureing the pilots about lack of gunnery skills in Vietnam, well did the Navy F-4s actually carry a gun in the early Vietnam engagements, it is a bit difficult to shoot down another aircraft using your aircraft's gun no matter how good your gunnery skills are if your aircraft does not actually have a gun!

www.acepilots.com/viet...ngham.html

www.imdb.com/title/tt0092099/goofs

biggest goof of the lot, Tom Cruise as a Naval Aviator!

Best and Warm Regards
Adrian Wainer

„Ik val aan, volg mij!�
Rear Admiral Karel Doorman Royal Netherlands Navy
Battle of the Java Sea 1942

Now I'm not one to put much weight in conspiracy theories but think about it.

1.) Tom Cruise stars in "Top Gun" which features the F14 Tomcat, a better actor than Cruise as for as I'm concerned.

2.) Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes become an item and another ridiculous Hollywood couple nickname comes into play.......yup...."Tomcat".

3.) Roughly in a 1 year period Cruise and Holmes give birth to a baby "Tomcat" and the Navy decides to no longer use the F14...........you guessed it TOMCAT! Coincidence...........I think not.

There was a really good layout in the June issue of Flight Journal magazine about the F14. If you have never read a Flight Journal magazine. i can tell you this, you are missing out on a great one. They have individual magazines on just one aircraft! F6F, Spit and so on.

Check it out, you wont be disapointed.

www.flightjournal.com/


Senyu