Komet Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - There will be no more dogfights for the Tomcat. The last two squadrons of the sleek, Cold War fighter jet returned home from their final deployment Friday, two decades after the warplanes were glamorized in the 1986 Tom Cruise movie "Top Gun." All 22 Tomcats of fighter squadrons VF-213 and VF-31 arrived in style, flying together in a wedge formation over Oceana Naval Air Station as hundreds of sailors and their family and friends cheered. Some wore T-shirts reading "Tomcats Forever" and a banner proclaimed, "Last Fly-In, Baby!" "We're putting the premier fighter to sleep," said pilot Lt. Jon Jeck, 32, as he held his 3-year-old son Collin. "It's a staple of Americana." The Navy plans to replace the F-14, a two-seat fighter with moveable swept-back wings, with the F/A-18 Super Hornets. (AP) In this handout photo released by the U.S. Navy, Friday, March 10, 2006, an F-14D Tomcat assigned... Full Image The F-14 entered service in the early 1970s to defend aircraft carriers from Soviet bombers carrying long-range cruise missiles. "If you want to think about airplanes that have defined the air age, this would have to be on the short list," military analyst John Pike said. After the Cold War, the Navy became less concerned about defending carrier groups and transformed the F-14 into a bomb-dropping fighter jet, said Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, an Alexandria research center on security issues. "But it was not designed as a bomb hauler," Pike said. "They would rather have a new plane ... than try to teach an old cat new tricks." The F-14 squadrons that returned Friday were from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, which has been on a six-month deployment for the Iraq war. The Roosevelt was to return Saturday to nearby Norfolk Naval Station. 'Top Gun' Jets Return From Final Combat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runningking7 Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Wow, this fighter jet looks so cool! *Salute* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigitalN. Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Im gonna buy one with my $100000 dollars I found. but damn, what a waste of taxpayers money. They could have just put a new pylon on the jet, and its a bomb carrier. It's not that hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXiao Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 i wanna be inside one of those in my lifetime! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chmsant Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Anybody find video footage of them flying together? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad0w480 Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 i wanna be inside one of those in my lifetime! Same here... i wanna feel the adrenaline rush! :woot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazzy88ss Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Im gonna buy one with my $100000 dollars I found. but damn, what a waste of taxpayers money. They could have just put a new pylon on the jet, and its a bomb carrier. It's not that hard. you'll need to add on a couple extra zeroes :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scudworth Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 (edited) Im gonna buy one with my $100000 dollars I found. but damn, what a waste of taxpayers money. They could have just put a new pylon on the jet, and its a bomb carrier. It's not that hard. The planes are over 30 years old, they DO wear out. You can't just keep adding more and more mounting points to a plane and expect it to perform as it was intended. If that was the case, we would still have, well, who knows how many of the jet-engined fighters/bombers that came before the F-14. You can't really just 'stick another pylon on'. F-14s already have quite a few pylons on them already, and as it states in the snippit, it was never intended as a fighter-bomber. It was designed as a carrier defence interceptor. That's one job and one job only, go fast(which isnt as fast as planes can go now) , carry a thousand or so rounds for it's canon, and lots of air-to-air missiles. F-14s are big and heavy, too. They were built when no-one cared about gas consumption. Superhornet's are just an upgraded F/A-18, a plane that has been in existence for quite some time anyways. Hornets are fast, hard manouevering, and multi-puposed. The Superhornet likely incorporates a more efficient turbine, too. I'm sure stall speeds, turning radii, climb speeds, upgradability, and a plethora of other things also factor in. I've only had the honour to see 14's in flight on one occasion, but it was truely memorable. Ripping across the runway at low level pulling a vapour cone as it nearly broke the sound-barrier. I bow my head in honour of these beautiful birds. So sad to think that they will sit in desolation row upon row somewhere in an airforce graveyard, waiting their turns to be chopped and sold for scrap :cry: The Jolly Roger just wont look the same painted on the tail of an F-18.... http://tradecorridor.com/sundowners/eighti...14_squadron.JPG http://www.aerofiles.com/f14flyby.html http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/sys...f-14-lion21.jpg (ton of other tomcat photos here) Edited March 11, 2006 by Scudworth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysterious_w Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I have a great urge to become a pilot now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boogiman Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 (edited) That is the plane that started my dream to become a pilot. One of the most beautiful man made machines on earth... It's a shame... :( edit :cool: Edited March 11, 2006 by Boogiman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illicit Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 i wanna be inside one of those in my lifetime! Yeah, same here. That is one cool fighter jet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I think the F-14 is to young to retire. There are many much older aircraft still doing there job, so why cant this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azusa Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 shoulda be retierd the second the MiG-29 took to the air Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felinix_Devotion Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Shame but we have to progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock-Lee Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 tomcat rocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokkolm Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 The planes are over 30 years old, they DO wear out. You can't just keep adding more and more mounting points to a plane and expect it to perform as it was intended. If that was the case, we would still have, well, who knows how many of the jet-engined fighters/bombers that came before the F-14. You can't really just 'stick another pylon on'. F-14s already have quite a few pylons on them already, and as it states in the snippit, it was never intended as a fighter-bomber. It was designed as a carrier defence interceptor. That's one job and one job only, go fast(which isnt as fast as planes can go now) , carry a thousand or so rounds for it's canon, and lots of air-to-air missiles. F-14s are big and heavy, too. They were built when no-one cared about gas consumption. Superhornet's are just an upgraded F/A-18, a plane that has been in existence for quite some time anyways. Hornets are fast, hard manouevering, and multi-puposed. The Superhornet likely incorporates a more efficient turbine, too. I'm sure stall speeds, turning radii, climb speeds, upgradability, and a plethora of other things also factor in. I've only had the honour to see 14's in flight on one occasion, but it was truely memorable. Ripping across the runway at low level pulling a vapour cone as it nearly broke the sound-barrier. I bow my head in honour of these beautiful birds. So sad to think that they will sit in desolation row upon row somewhere in an airforce graveyard, waiting their turns to be chopped and sold for scrap :cry: I don't think that they chop them and sell them for scrap metal. I'm pretty sure that they'll sell them as they are. I saw an F-4 on ebay a couple of years ago. My guess is that they'll be sold to a smaller nation in Africa or South America. Hell, maybe even the Iraqi Air Force. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azusa Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 tomcat rocks i beg to differ the harrier wold rape a tomcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOC Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 TomCat video's right here . http://www.voodoo.cz/tomcat/ani.html TomCat video's right here . http://navysite.de/downloads.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattmatik Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Two words: Top Gun :) I remember playing with toy F-14s when I was a kid all the time. Then in high school I bought a model F-14 that my dad and I took 3 months to put together (you had to sand it, paint it, all that crap). I love that jet. The wings in supersonic speed are a thing of beauty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LG-2 Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 I got on of those in my garage but I cant put picture for security purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mieky242 Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 i beg to differ the harrier wold rape a tomcat That dosent mean that the tomcat dosent rock though. Besides the hawker is a newer plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Komet Posted March 12, 2006 Author Share Posted March 12, 2006 It is a shame to see a plane like that go but technology marches on relentlessly. shoulda be retierd the second the MiG-29 took to the air MiG-29 The MiG was good in it's time but it too has been passed by technology. The Russian Sukhoi 29 is the best the Russian Air Force fields now and it is an incredible aircraft. The SU-30 shares a technology with America's two newest and best fighters - thrush vector technology. That allows the exhaust nozzle of the engines deflect giving the aircraft extreme turning ablity. these three aircraft at the cutting egde right now and nothing can touch them. F-22 Raptor SU-30 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter The F-35 has vertical take-off capabilities and is the replacement for the Brit Harrier in both the U.S. Marine and British forces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeM741 Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 "Is this your idea of fun mav?" "Greetings" God thats a badass plane, RIP Maverick's plane :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePitt Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 A nice place, great looking and lethal. But its old. And last more than was expected. Thank God there are new birds flying, like the F22 :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azusa Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 That dosent mean that the tomcat dosent rock though. Besides the hawker is a newer plane. lol tomcat need runway that means you need oversized slow aircraft carriers harrier just needs a wee bit space too land thus smaller faster aircraft carriers plus its one step on the ladder to the YF-19 variable fighter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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