I think the thing that I like the most about the F-14 is that it's just a beautiful airplane. You see it fly, you see its wings forward, you see its sweep aft, and then through the the staff, the loops, the fighter techniques that they use, we call it a scene environment, is just awesome. It's just something you cannot ever forget. Credibility means an awful lot to an F-14 guy. We do what we say we're going to do. I don't think people are ever going to recognize, until 20 years down the pipe, everything that we did in the 90s and 2000s with an airplane that wasn't designed to do the things that no one would. And every time I'd see an F-14, I'd always say, there's my jet. I was on a great scene with a great bunch of individuals who would do extraordinary things to make things happen. When I come out for the air shows and I see an F-14 thundering by, I still get a chill. I love it. We caught lightning in a bottle. Through the years with the F-14, I don't think we found any challenge that the F-14 could meet. It excelled in every role. If you can scare someone away with just the looks of that aircraft, it's me. As I see this aircraft coming in, I thought that maybe there was something wrong with it because the tails were going this way and that way. In the Phantom program, the tails were locked together, so we thought for sure the aircraft was broken. The first time I saw a Tomcat, it was like looking at a Klingon warship or something. And to watch that aircraft just zoom by in the sky, it's so beautiful, it's so natural in the movement. The F-14 is the most powerful, sexiest, coolest, sleekest, fastest muscle car ever built. The idea for the F-14 was born in the 1960s. The F-111 was supposed to be the next Navy carrier-based aircraft, but there were issues about landing the big plane on a carrier deck. So the Navy decided they wanted the perfect replacement, an aircraft that had air superiority like the F-4 Phantom, air-to-ground capability like the F-111B, and dogfighting superiority to protect the carrier against Russian aircraft. The original engineering design team that Grumman put together were brilliant to come up with what they did. Once we saw what the airplane was capable of doing in the proposal, it was just incredible. And then when you saw the first prototype rolled out, it was such a thing of beauty. The Tomcat first flew at the Grumman facility in Calverton, New York, December 21, 1970. I remember the first flight of the aircraft. I was on the roof of one of our plants watching it take off, went once around the field, landed, everything went smooth. On its second flight, December 30, 1970, Tomcat No. 1 experienced a hydraulic failure and crashed while on final approach to Calverton. Both crew members survived. The program almost died when aircraft No. 1 had the hydraulic failure on its final approach back to Calverton. And after that it got the moniker of being the ill-fated successor to the ill-fated F-111B. Probably in today's world where everything is very success-oriented and we can't we can't tolerate one error, one mistake, it probably would have been canceled in today's world. Grumman initiated an extensive hydraulic redesign to fix the problem and get the F-14 flying again. We ran 24 hours a day and in my mind I can still hear the two electric drives that we used for the motors, they were called vary drives, whining as the frequencies changed up and down and we surveyed all the various frequencies and it was a real big to-do and very nerve-wracking. In the end, we had made quite a few changes to hydraulic lines and hydraulic line supports, and I believe we gave the Navy the confidence that they wanted in the aircraft. We all like to put out 125 percent. We spent a lot of time to give the Navy a good product. The 1970s was a big decade for the Tomcat. By 1973, Tomcats ready for combat had been delivered to the U.S. Navy. Fighter squadrons could now put this impressive aircraft to work. The 70s also included the first black F-14, the selection of the F-14 as the aircraft of choice by the Shah of Iran, and the Tomcat providing air cover for evacuees leaving South Vietnam. F-14s came off the assembly line and had their acceptance flights at Calverton. Further structural analysis was done on F-14 prototypes at Calverton and the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River, Maryland, and Tomcat fighting capability was infused into test aircraft by a contractor military civilian team at Point Mugu, California. Grumman Aerospace Corporation integrated the F-14 avionics weapon systems. Hughes Aircraft Company tested the completed weapon control system. facilities and equipment and provided laboratory space for the integrated systems. I came out for a business trip in April of 1971 and then had the pleasant experience of flying a corporate plane out here later on to bring out all the first instrumentation equipment to integrate it in the SITS frame. Civilian software and hardware engineers at Point Legault prepared for the highly technical work on the F-14. You had to have an organization that could be responsive to the fleet, that wasn't tied up in contractual issues, that would make it so that we could get new technology that integrated into the aircraft. A complex support system began to take shape at Point Mugu. The F-14 Systems Integration Test Station SITS Lab became operational in 1971. The lab was a complex performance simulator built around an F-14 fuselage containing a full suite of avionics, fire control, and electronic warfare systems. The instrumentation system on the number five aircraft was designed to test all the avionics. And so there were many, many different types of circuitry that had to be designed. We integrated that into one large unit, brought it all up to SITS, and then you had to go one signal at a time to test all aspects of each aircraft. It's much easier and cost effective to have a frame in a lab where one can easily have access to equipment, one can easily make changes without having to do it on a flight and on a live aircraft because it involves a lot of manpower, a lot of work, a lot of cost. The SITS Lab approach was unique and instrumental in the Naval Missile Center providing integration support for the F-14. The real neat benefits of Point Magoo is we had the engineering personnel, the software personnel, contractor support. Although F-14 software was not nearly as complicated in the 1970s as it would become in the 1990s, still posed challenges as engineers wanted to gather data and process it in real time. The goal for F-14 weapon integration, software or hardware focused, was fleet success with the aircraft. The SITS lab could be reconfigured many times in a day to test different capabilities. Before any test flight took place with the radar or with the missile, there was a very advanced laboratory, and the first time this was used to the extent that, at least in the 1970s, where you tested fully all the components of the weapon system before you placed them in the airplane. As F-14 Weapon System Integration Support solidified on land, the first squadron, the F-1 Wolf Pack and VF-2 Bounty Hunter, took their place on Navy carriers. As fleet pilots got current on the new high-tech F-14, Tomcat test pilots at Point Mugu continued to push the envelope with missions the fleet pilot might face in combat. On the F-14 program in particular, basically the programs at Point Mugu, they use the test air crew as project officers. And you do a lot more than just test the system. You go to design reviews and figure out what the air crew really want, and then there's a really incredible relationship between the project officers and the engineers who don't have the operational experience, and the engineers would come into your office and ask you questions, and you'd explain how things work in the fleet, and a lot of times you just see the light bulb come on for them, and then therefore they can make the right design decision. The test pilot's job is to weed out potential problems before an aircraft flies a new capability in the fleet. The job is challenging and can become dangerous. In 1973, F-14 test pilot Pete Purvis fired an AIM-7 Sparrow missile during a test flight off Point Mugu Ranges when something went wrong. Well, we fired the missile and the first thing that Pete called was, hey Tom, the missile went funny. That's not the exact words he used, but it was close. And then the back end of the airplane became an enormous fireball. Well, Pete pulled up because the higher altitude you go, the less oxygen there is. He was hoping to extinguish the fire. But he didn't get very far and the fire burned through some control rods and the airplane went out of control. The back-seater was able to eject both himself and the pilot safely. They landed, they were in a raft for about an hour, they were picked up by helos, came back. They were fine, they were on a bowling team that night. Sparrow technical issues were quickly solved. With software changes the team made, a patch tape fixed the Sparrow problem. It literally took them one day to find it when they were told what to look for, and then a couple days later to come up with a patch tape. Then in 1974 the capable Tomcat gained the attention of the Shah of Iran. 79 Tomcats were delivered to Iran but before the Iranian F-14s became fully operational the Ayatollah Khomeini took power. The potential threat of F-14s in the wrong hands was avoided. Without US maintenance support the F-14s never were able to fly for the Ayatollah. In the 1970s, the Navy created a black F-14. It was called Vandy 1. They wanted to use it for nighttime operations, low light level operations, different type of scenarios. Now, Vandy 1 is the airplane that generally the skipper of VX4 would fly, now it's VX9, and that F-14 flew up until 2004. With its OG-9 weapons control system, the F-14 could detect airborne targets at ranges of more than 100 nautical miles, track 24 enemy targets at one time, and attack six of them simultaneously. That led to the famous six-on-six missile shot, successfully demonstrated by the Tomcat at Point Mugu. There was this lieutenant that was Officer of the Year, and there was a congressional committee here, and he had a chance to interview with them, and he asked one of the congressmen or senator, I forget which, why is it the Navy doesn't test their aircraft and weapons to the capability that the contractor advertises. And the congressman said, what do you mean, son? And he says, well, this airplane is supposed to be capable of shooting six missiles at six targets. And they said, well, why don't you drop a plan and send it to me? So the lieutenant did, much to the chagrin of the command. And that was the start of 6-on-6, but it was a great program. Six Phoenix missiles fired from the F-14 attacked six independent targets, five of the six for the direct hit. 3's in the air. 4's in the air. Check the target cameras. 5's in the air. 6 in the air. The 1980s gave me one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I was off the coast of Beirut with Bob Hope and his Christmas USO tour in 1983 during the Lebanese crisis. We knew that the Navy had lost a couple of aircraft to enemy fire earlier that year. But the sound of those Tomcats flying overhead during our stay with the 6th Fleet gave us complete confidence, not to mention an exceptional show. What a thrill to meet the Tomcat pilots that were providing protective cover for us. Also in the 80s, the F-14 became a celebrity in its own right, starring in its first movie role, along with of course Tom Cruise in Top Gun. The F-14 Tomcat and the Navy's elite fighter pilot school would become household words. During the 80s, the Tomcat got a new engine and solidified its reputation as a supreme dog fighter ruling the sky. In 1981, Omar Qaddafi sent two Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets to take on a couple of United States Tomcats during what has come to be known as the Gulf of Sidra incident. The F-14s were cleared to return fire and registered the first combat kills for the F-14 aircraft. Admiral Venlett was a radar intercept officer on one of those Tomcats. Looking between the tails, watching Larry Muszynski chase that fitter over the Gulf of Sidra and then seeing the smoke trail of the AIM-9L come out behind our airplane and realizing that Hank Clement had just squeezed the trigger and let one fly. After that confrontation, it was U.S. 2, Libya 0. The Lebanon crisis followed in 1983. The U.S. lost an A6B intruder and a Corsair to enemy missile fire during the first few days of the operations. F-14 support teams worked around the clock to give the Tomcat the ALQ-167 Jammerpod to protect the aircraft in the event of further skirmishes. The class desk officer called out to Point Mugu. It was late in the Thursday afternoon and he said, you've got to get a Point Mugu-developed ALQ-167 Jammerpod on the F-14. You've got to do it quick because two airplanes have already been shot down. We can't afford to lose any more aircraft. Well, we got together a Point Mugu team, a Grumman team, a Navy team, civil servant team, worked through the weekend. By Tuesday of the following week, the Navy was flying with this new configuration. F-14s were fired at, but not one was ever hit because of that ALQ-167. In 1989, Tomcats faced two of Qaddafi's MiG-23 floggers. The air combat sequence lasted over six minutes. The end result, U.S. 4, Libya 0. So that was the total dogfighting experience of the F-14s forever. The fact that the F-14 wasn't challenged is really the legacy that the F-14 has. Nobody would take it on. You never let them get close enough. The best thing about a Phoenix missile is you don't have to let them get close. Besides the F-14 pilot, Punk Brewster, is featured in a book adventure series by author and former F-14 radar intercept officer, Ward Carroll. Carroll's experiences in the cockpit mirror the F-14 community synergy. What makes it a venue that lends itself to movies or books is two guys in the airplane. You can see the other guy and he can see you. And what was rewarding over the long haul about being in the F-14 community was it was a partnership between pilot and Rio, an equal basis, each bringing what he does to the equation. You need talent in the front seat and you need talent in the back seat. And that really did keep me in the business and keep me excited about flying the F-14. F-14 teamwork has always been a part of F-14 history. I'll always remember the people. It'll never get as good as it is today. The F-14 community is absolutely the best place to be in the Navy. There's no better place to be. The people here are the highest caliber that are out there. The maintainers that we have working on the aircraft are unbelievably knowledgeable. These guys are putting in, you know, 45 to 50 man hours per every flight hour that we get to fly. They're the hardest working people in the Navy. They are the salt of the earth. I think we are not afraid to walk over to one of the other members of the team and say, you know what, we've got a problem and here's what I think the problem is, and communicate what that is so that we find the best solution or the best resolution to that. And it was a marvelous program. A lot of really dedicated people on all sides. The F-14 team also focused on giving the fleet the biggest bang for the buck. We manage our money to the dollar. We know where it's going. We did more with less than anybody else. The ability to work in that environment and provide for the fleet required tremendous leadership and creative thinking on everyone's part in the teams. Dedication to the fleet is a common thread that binds the F-14 team. An example of this happened early in Engineer Jerry Dean's career. It was Christmas time and Dean was requested by the fleet to fix a nose gear that had collapsed on an F-14. It was an enlightening experience because once I got out there, I said, well, if we had the right parts, we could replace this and the skipper of the squadron. I was like, son, we didn't ask you to come out here just to replace parts. He said, get out your little piece of paper, your books, your slide rule, whatever you need and whip me up a repair. So he sent me down to my room, I worked up a repair and we had some parts made, worked with the artisans, we had those installed on the airplane. About three or four years later that airplane came through, I went down to check out the repair. safe sound, still operate until they retired the aircraft. Serving the fleet's needs led to high-tech upgrades for the F-14. The F-14B and the F-14D would give the Tomcat capabilities that solidified its position as a top performer for the 1990s and into the 21st century. The upgraded F-14B had a new engine, the GE-110, which added the power and response the fleet was looking for. F-14B improvements and then some. The F-14D took the engine that was introduced for the F-14B in 1987 and had the LR-67, but what it also did was it brought in a digital architecture with programmable displays, a super advanced radar with twice the capacity and twice the distance. We still had all the same missiles before, but now they had a tremendous improvement in performance because they had a much better weapons system to work with. With the sophistication of the F-14B, the weapons system support team at Point Mugu face new challenges. How to gather the thousands of signals of information on the aircraft, from fuel levels to weapons system release information, and make the data useful in real time for testing purposes. In typical F-14 can-do spirit, the team developed dynamic, real-time data collection processes that worked. One of the big problems was to take 28,000 signals that the aircraft basically had available and telemeter all of them, basically record all the data. Now at the time, no one was doing data reduction of that sort in real time. Like when we were getting ready for the data reduction, we had guys that worked here all night long. Software became really huge. It was large in the F-14A, but it was very limited to the number of processors that we could control. The F-14D upgrade included a new APG-71 radar system, an airborne self-protection jammer, infrared search and track, and the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System. The F-14D implemented the JTIS terminal, the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System. And when it implemented, it was the only fighter aircraft in the Navy inventory that had this system. The F-14D altogether, from software development, hardware, to what the fleet actually received, we delivered a big bang for the buck. F-14D upgrades also included the digital flight control system. It's been a very good upgrade in terms of improving the flying qualities at high angle of attack and also improving the flying qualities in the landing configuration in the back of the ship and has really helped out in maintenance and troubleshooting of the flight control system. It's a very satisfying job. In the 1990s, the Tomcat became a bomb cat, adding a new laser targeting pod system to the Tomcat called the Lantern. The initial flight of a Lantern-equipped Tomcat was on March 21, 1995. The bomb cat had finally come of age. The bomb cats flew sorties over Bosnia, acting as the forward air controller for Bosnia airstrikes. The Lantern bomb cat participated in Operation Desert Fox, with airstrikes conducted against Iraq. The bomb cat saw more combat in the NATO air campaign against Serbia over Kosovo in the spring of 1999, flying hundreds of sorties. The integration of the lantern pod, low altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night, would change the course of history for the F-14. But there had been an initial hesitancy to convert the F-14 from air-to-air to air-to-ground missions. The atmosphere of the community was they were air-to-air. They were fighter guys. They didn't want to be air-to-mud guys. We needed to have an air-to-ground capability to have a mission in the current environment and the current conflicts we were fighting. We basically made the F-14 a bomb cat. We started flight testing it. I had some air crew that weren't looking forward to doing some of our testing. These guys were used to being, you know, 30,000 and above and always having all the room they needed to do all their maneuvers. And what am I doing diving at the ground at 45 degrees and you tell me what you want me to release this at what altitude? But when the Lantern-equipped, fully integrated F-14 bombcats were ready for the fleet, a whole new world opened for the F-14. My most important contribution to the F-14 program was being a member of the Lantern Integration Team and providing a precision strike capability to the F-14, which really breathed a new life into the old CAT. Somebody had the foresight back in the early 90s to strap a lantern pod on the Tomcat so that we had some ability to do precision guided bombing. And now the Tomcat is not only an all weather fighter, but we are also an all weather bomber and a precision bomber. So we can provide multiple roles for the carrier air wing as a air to air fighter and also a air to ground bomber. Even while putting the punch into the Tomcat, the F-14 team always put the safety of the pilot and crew first. Better, faster, cheaper. You hear that all the time. Well, that's great, but naval aviation is, in itself, a risky business. Safety's number one. It's a personal thing for me, and it's the goal for everybody in the Mains Department. I think the best thing that makes dogfighting an F-14 really special is the way that you have control over this airplane like no one else. Pilots in this airplane have direct control over a weapon system. You're not influencing a computer or telling a computer what to do. You're flying an airplane. You're putting everything you've got into something and making it work, and that airplane gives you feedback to exactly what it's doing, not what a computer's doing or not what, you know, you're not a voting member in this airplane, you're the driver. Landing an F-14 on an aircraft carrier is an interesting proposition. It's a big airplane. It's great to fly behind the boat. The power response is excellent. It's really exciting to come aboard in an F-14. It's a Rio-centric airplane. A lot of what happens in the airplane occurs in the back seat. You feel like you're on top of the world. By the 1990s, the future of the F-14 had been decided. The last F-14 came off the production line. Everybody believes that the last F-14 ever built was built by Grumman. That's wrong. Because this was an APN-1 funded project and it was considered new production. Technically speaking, just technically speaking, the last new F-14 rolled off the line in Nauvoo. It is with pride and sadness that the F-14 community faces the 21st century. Soon the last F-14 will be retired from the fleet. The last F-14 has already departed from the NAVAIR weapons division at Point Mugu and the NAVAIR depot at Jacksonville. No more wrenches will turn on F-14 fuselages. No more weapons systems upgrade to be made to the Tomcat. The equipment that's in an F-14 is very maintenance intensive, and that's primarily why the F-14 community is drawing down early now. It's an airplane that's got a lot of intricacies and things that you don't really find on a lot of airplanes these days. It's its own unique beast, so to speak. It is what we call a truck. It's an airplane that will fly its heart out for you. Although approaching its retirement date from the fleet, the Tomcat continues to make its mark. And one of the finest achievements brought about by the F-14 team also happened in this decade. In a whirlwind of activity and teamwork, the final software system upgrade was made to the F-14 in record time, allowing the Tomcat to play a pivotal role dropping precision-guided joint direct attack munitions in Operation Iraqi Freedom. With three F-14D squadrons on three different carriers participating in Southern Watch, this meant putting together a team of engineers, technicians and air crew to assist with installation of new hardware and software and also to conduct personnel training. Point Magoo got the call Friday to make the JDAM integration happen. We got a call from the PMA saying we want to put this out in the fleet now. I said, what do you mean by now? They said, well, we'd like your people in Puerto Rico Monday morning. I got on the phone and we made that happen. I would stay behind and be available by email. I was online with them day and night and this was no longer preparing for testing, preparing for dry runs, preparing for this was I knew preparing for the real thing. We managed to put the capability in three F-14 squadrons, F-14D squadrons in a very short period of time and give them the capability that they didn't have for dropping J-DAMs, multiple J-DAMs, on targets. The war effort started and on the first night F-14Ds were dropping J-DAMs in Iraq. So it was very rewarding to see that from the start point of launching the team over there to do that and then actually squadrons employing new weapons. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, a team consisting of NAVAIR's Kevin Morris and Navy Top Gun instructor Lieutenant Commander Keith Rex Harrison went into northern Iraq. Their job was to assist Special Forces in directing precision-guided J-DAMs on target. We were in the mountains, about 1,000 Americans, 125,000 Iraqis. Where we were, we had two aircraft carriers supporting us. It was amazing to watch the F-14 Tomcat community lead the show during that phase of operations, specifically in northern Iraq, where they were so critical to the survival of those guys on the ground. So I was teaching those guys on the ground, how do you interface with that air component up there? What do you need to do to have that air component successfully drop a JDAM weapon on the target you're looking for? And we would coordinate the aircraft with targets on the ground and drop bombs on them. At the same time, provided imagery to the ground guys, so when we had to go across a bridge, we had to know if the bridge was still there. We had to know what was guarding the bridge. We liberated some cities, and it was a very hard trip. And finally, a toast to the F-14 Tomcat and all those who flew it and fixed it and supported and admired it throughout 30 plus years for a time period that spanned five decades. All the people that I've worked with, it's just, you know, when I think about it, I think of their faces and I think of the accomplishments and the satisfaction they've had flying the airplane, coming back from good missions, and then all the test work and all the people that have said, wow, we got that done, we didn't think we could do it, but it happened and it's a great thing. So it's the people that I'll always remember. The first model airplane I ever built, it turned out to be an F-14. That was back in 1972, I believe. So it was right after the airplane entered the fleet. And then to go through college and come out and end up working here and working on the F-14 was just a great experience for me. The one thing I won't miss is the people. It is a fun program to work for. We were always in the forefront of technology. It's basically an ending to a wonderful experience that I've had and one that I'll truly never forget. It's been my career for as long as I can remember, certainly longer than anything else I've worked on, and I just love it. It shows a lot of the newer generation that, yeah, you can get a little romantic with an aircraft but at the same time when push came to shove it can go out there and get the job done for you. The Navy decided to mount an F-14 outside the gate and it was just so nice that we have a plaque out there and some of our names are on it and it's just the one monument that I'll probably ever have in my life but it certainly makes me feel proud. What I'd like to say to the team is thank you for all the support and all the help and all the teamwork and working together over the years. The support for the fleet and for the United States and for me personally. It's been great working with everybody over the years. I can sum up my personal and professional feelings of the F-14 in just one word, awesome. We'll go down in history as one of the greats and we'll probably rank up there with the Spitfire and the P-51. And I'm very proud to have been part of the Tomcat life. The Navy designed the F-14 for Fleet Path, and we think it does that job magnificently. The F-14 has been operating off of the USS Enterprise in the Pacific Fleet, and that this is its fleet introduction, and that our experience has been that the aircraft performance has exceeded expectations. Now in a fleet air defense role, and that means shooting down enemy aircraft that threaten our ship to sea, we consider that the F-14 is about three times as good as the current F-4. The F-14, first and foremost, is an honest airframe. It's a product of the Grumman Iron Works. It flies and handles controls simply, easily, nicely. It comes aboard at speeds approaching the A6 in the 120 knot area. The airplane has the computer-controlled swing wing concept, which gives us approximately twice the range of any other missile that we know in existence today. As well as carrying the Phoenix, we do carry the Sparrow and the Sidewinder and the M61 Vulcan cannon for the closer in dogfight arena. In summary, the F-14 is an extremely capable and flexible weapon system that does in fact permit the Navy to operate any place, anytime. You So, I'm going to go ahead and get the camera. We followed the Grumman company's success as a builder at some of the world's best carrier planes. The Grumman Hellcat has been hailed as the plane that won the Pacific theater during World War II. The Intruder and the first swing-wing fighter, the F-14A had two Pratt & Whitney TF-30 engines capable of producing a total T30 engines capable of producing a total of 41,800 pounds of thrust. Later models of the F-14 incorporated two General Electric F-110 engines, which in afterburner mode produced a total of 54,000 pounds of thrust. The F-14 Domcat is considered a large fighter. It's 63 foot long, 16 foot high and has a maximum wingspan of 61 foot 1 inch. The F-111. The Tomcat carried a wider range of armament than any other fighter before it. The two 20mm cannons were for close dogfighting. Sidewinder and Sparrow missiles were for targets between the ranges of 2.5 miles to 13 miles. With an 80-mile flight capacity, the new Phoenix missile took care of long range targeting. Raman's 303 airframe was extremely innovative for its time, however the engines weren't as advanced. Raman decided to fit engines that had a proven record. They chose the TF-30. Unfortunately, during the late 1970s, some F-14s experienced very substantial engine problems. They were serious enough to consider the prospect of developing entirely new engines for the aircraft. This would have been an enormously difficult and costly exercise. It was decided that it was possible to make improvements to the TF-30. The improved engines were adequate and effective and continued to be used in the F-14A model. But they were still worrisome. To the point that the Navy installed a low-cost but very effective alert system the F-30 engine failure. Laser F-14B and F-14D used two General Electric F-110 turbofan engines with afterburners. Regardless of the initial engine problems, the Tomcat was revolutionary and the pinnacle of what had been learned from the early beginnings of building carrier-based planes was that every step forward in aviation required changes to the actual carrier. The development of the jet engine rose substantial problems. Jet aircraft were getting heavier and heavier with every new model. much faster. This meant that their landing and take-off speeds were higher and they required longer runways. Major changes to the aircraft carrier's shape and the procedures of pilots and ground crew Their weight exceeding 10,000 pounds, their high landing speeds, crash barriers were not always sufficient in preventing accidents such as this. In the late 1940s, there was a huge increase in accidents involving planes slamming into park aircraft. To overcome this, the angled deck was employed. The angled runway permitted pilots who missed the trap wires to accelerate and go round again. This improvement also freed up the deck space to allow more planes to be flight ready or prepare. to allow more planes to be flight ready or prepared. Steam catapult was another carrier addition that assisted the plane to achieve take-off speed over a very short distance. An F-14 requires about one mile of runway to take off. On a carrier, this 30-ton plane is catapulted to 170 mph in 3 seconds over a distance of 300 feet. Although these carrier features were employed before the Tomcat's arrival, it's interesting to note that the Tomcat was built to excel all other aircraft and it had to be created within the limitations of that day's carriers. This is the Tomcat's second test flight. Test pilot Miller is in the rear seat and Smythe is the pilot. The first test flight was a simple see if it flies affair and it was really only a take off short straight flight and landing. It was uneventful. The second flight was more performance and handling based. Unlike the first flight, this one was eventful. The chase pilot noticed smoke coming from the rear of the Tomcat. A closer inspection revealed that it was hydraulic fluid. Within a few minutes the plane started losing functions. It was basically bleeding to death. At about 100 feet above the ground and not far from the runway, the pilots were forced to eject when the plane, prototype 1, was lost. It looked like this. This is aircraft number 12. It was re-designated as 1X to replace the last one. This plane was to continue the test program and included the high-speed tests. Smythe, Miller and the other test pilots were just coming to grips with the Tomcat, and although there were problems, it was fast becoming apparent that the Tomcat was superior to anything before it. However, at this time, the Navy and Congress were not convinced. One of the factors for their hesitation was the cost. The Tomcat wasn't cheap, and it still had problems. Throughout 1971, testing was still in progress, and the aircraft were performing better than anticipated. The teething problems were being ironed out, and the plane's sailability was looking good. This is prototype two going through a routine. Several Tomcats were built with no intention of flying them. They were simply created to be destroyed in destructive testing experiments. It wasn't until June of 1972 that the first carrier test for Pothol. After a series of touch and goes, her landing was completed by aircraft number 10. Another problem arose. Number 10 suffered a hydraulic leak with the nose landing gear. This is not what Grumman needed as the Navy and Congress were still not entirely happy with the Tomcat. The storm and the result of the carrier test was to be flown to the Navy for its final decision regarding the purchase of the plane. A hydraulic leak was definitely the last thing Grumman needed. As it turned out, Congress endorsed the plane that became an aviation legend. If Congress were to have made their decision the following day, it may all have been a different story, as plane number 10 and its pilot Miller were both lost. The program continued, and in the later half of 1972, production began and the F-14 entered service in 1973. The Tomcat has undergone many revamps since. In November 1987, the F-14B was released and it incorporated new General Electric F-110 engines, which solved the engine problems of the A variant. B, C and D variants followed, and most of the changes in these models were the weapons and defense capability of the craft. The Tomcat was the first fighter to have the remarkable Phoenix missile system. Test operation was called six on six. If the test was successful, the system would prove to be a quantum leap in fighter ability. The objective of the test was for the Tomcat's pilot to attack on down six targets simultaneously. The targets included two drones that flew at supersonic speed, three training aircraft which simulated slower moving targets such as bombers and another ground launch drone to imitate a supersonic missile. On the radar the six targets were identified and designated a prefix. One time, all six missiles were in the air tracking their targets, and this was due to which was determined after receiving the test data that with some slight modifications the Tomcat Phoenix combination would, under combat conditions, give the pilot an 80% hit rate. With the Tomcat Phoenix missile combination flying off aircraft carriers, the US Navy was very much at the forefront of carrier power. However, landing the planes was still a high-risk operation. In this incident, the front undercarriage collapsed when this Tomcat attempted a landing on the USS Forestorm. The plane is still fuel-laden and probably armed. The other problem is that the crashed Tomcat is blocking the runway for other planes to land. In a combat situation this could be devastating, as planes returning from a mission could be low on fuel, and the removal of the crash craft would be a priority. In World War II, planes like this would be immediately pushed over the side. In another incident during 1976, two other airmen experienced a different problem. Their plane simply lurched itself over the side of the carrier John F. Kennedy. At the time the Tomcat was so advanced and secret that the Navy decided to locate and raise the debris to prevent the wreck falling into the competition's hands. There were further Tomcat losses. Three aircraft were lost in a week-long period in 1996. This initiated a safety stand down of the Tomcat. The Navy placed interim restrictions on the F-14 in the low altitude and high speed environments. Afterburner use was also prohibited for F-14Bs and F-14Ds. The Tomcat probably became one of the most recognized planes due to the Hollywood box office hit Top Gun. Top Gun is in fact a US Navy flying academy. At Top Gun pilots went into competition with had been modified to give them flight characteristics of Soviet fighters. The Tomcat was much larger and heavier, and it's hard to imagine a plane of such size being as nimble as the smaller fighters. T-38 are to compete with the Tomcat. The 1970s saw development and production of many outstanding aircraft that are still in service with many hundreds. However, service-like exhaustion is bringing on a slow phase-out The service light exhaustion is bringing on a slow phase out of past legends. A total of 13 aircraft have been delivered to the three squadrons here at Miramar and delivery rates are accelerating. out in the Navy's newest weapons system. Not all the training is being done in the air. Miramar is now the most advanced fighter training base in the world, and a good part of the credit for that title must go to one of the most advanced ground and maintenance training programs ever devised. In a specially constructed academic section, air crews are being trained with the most modern equipment. In addition to classrooms, there are self-study corrals where individuals can review audio-visual programs at their best learning tempo. Training is being enriched with color videotape cartridges covering a range of subjects from a general overview of the weapon systems to the specifics of in-flight refueling. Operational flight trainers, full-scale cockpits that never leave the ground, provide dynamic realism for both members of the flight crew. Four of these operational flight trainers have been ordered by the Navy. In the first of these, delivered ahead of schedule, the pilot maneuvers through an electronically generated sky, practicing and repeating the skills required for a high-performance swing-wing fighter. Three more will be ready for training by July of next year. In the missile control operational trainer, the naval flight officer reads simulated radar inputs and exercises the capability of the F-14 weapon system tracking simulated targets and launching simulated missiles. Maintenance training is an inadequate phrase to describe the variety of that own skills already sharpened by experience. Crew escape systems, they have to work only once, but they have to be ready all the time. These men are learning to ensure that capability on the cockpit escape system trainer. Thirteen different F-14 naval air maintenance trainers are in place at Miramar. Engines and engines accessories hands-on training complements classroom theory. Taking it out of the fuel system is observed in the maintenance trainer where the flow is visible and the valves and controls readily accessible for observation and adjustment. Flight controls, a matter of microsecond discipline on the part of electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic components, can be a study unto itself. The flight control system simulator, an iron bird that never flies, gives technical insights to the interaction of all the elements. Specially trained instructors are on hand throughout, leading, teaching, and available to answer questions. The F-14 armament system comes in for its own share of attention. The total elements that go into the Phoenix missile are part of the curriculum for those who are charged with the AUG-9 system maintenance. Hands-on training plays a big part here as shown by one of six Phoenix missiles being hoisted onto an F-14 weapons rack. If, as the old saying goes, training makes the difference, then here indeed is training with a difference. No system is left untouched, and the sum of these systems, the airplane itself, is also providing training. Readiness Squadron VF-124 has 13 flying classrooms for aircrew transitioning. While training is in full swing, there are Board of Inspection and Survey weapons trials scheduled for October completion. The Joint Evaluation Team, referred to as the JET, is comprised of the Naval Air Test Center, Protection River, Maryland, VX-4, and the Naval Missile Center at Point Mugu, California. This jet team is responsible for the on-time completion of these tests, using four aircraft from Patuxent River and three at Point Mugu. Between June and August of this year, the jet team conducted 11 missile firings, including a dual Phoenix air launch, a double Sidewinder air launch, and a Phoenix for launch against a cruise missile. All firings were successful. The F-14's gun has been fired from 90,000 feet through 6 G's at 7,000 feet and at 130 knots at 20,000 feet. A heads-up display camera recorded tracers being fired at a 30-foot long towed fiberglass target using direct windshield projection and a Grumman-developed real-time gun solution system. Tracers comprised one in every three rounds. Film speed is half normal time. Last December, five drone targets simulating MiG fighter aircraft were detected and tracked by an F-14A flying at Mach 0.7 at 31,500 feet. The Aug-9 system rapidly evaluated the five and selected the four with the greatest threat potential. Four Phoenix missiles were fired in rapid sequence. All four destroyed their targets. In June of 1973, in a severe look down, shoot down test, a Phoenix missile with a live warhead was launched at a QT-33 target drone. The drone flying 2,500 feet above the Naval Weapons Center range at China Lake, California was destroyed. The F-14A was traveling at a speed of Mach 0.8 at 4,500 feet altitude. The range and time of missile launch was 11 nautical miles. With a total of 20 missile firings, 17 have been successful, one was a no-test, for a success rate of 89.5%. The F-14A production continues on schedule in Bethpage, New York. The forward and mid-module of No. 61 has been assembled and is ready for shipment to Calverton. An aircraft number 79 is in sub-assembly. At Calverton, Tomcat activity continues at a rapid pace with numbers 40 through 60 in various stages of final assembly. In addition, aircraft numbers 36 through 39 are completed and in preparation for Navy sell. With aircraft now coming off the production line at a rate of four per month, the plan is to increase production to five per month by the end of the year. All major structural tests ended with completion of carrier suitability drop tests feet per second at landing weights approaching 52,000 pounds. In late August, the fatigue article passed another milestone on the ground by achieving 6,000 equivalent flight hours or one times aircraft life on the wing, fuselage and tail assemblies. At fighter configuration, this is equivalent to two times aircraft life or 12,000 equivalent flight hours. Aircraft number 7, the first F-14V equipped with two Pratt & Whitney F-401 Advanced Technology engines of 28,000 pounds thrust each, was rolled out of its Calverton New York hangar for engine run-up and taxi tests. No external changes were required to fit the F-401s into the basic F-14A airframe. The advanced technology engine had undergone a total of 19 hours of ground tests at the Calverton facility prior to installation. This month, No. 7 began its flight test program with Grumman F-14 project pilot Joe Burks in the front seat. The first in this series of flight tests evaluated airframe power plant compatibility. maximum altitude of 35,000 feet. Just completing the expansion of the entire F-14 structural envelope is aircraft number three. To date, number three has cleared the 6.5 G fighter envelope and has consistently flown the 7.5 G's in the fighter configuration. within limit loads. Aircraft number two has gone from plus 90 to minus 50 degrees angle of attack at all external loads, wing sweeps, and center of gravity locations without a stall or departure. At a maximum angle of attack of minus 50 degrees, airspeeds as low as 60 knots were obtained at full forward stick applied at a moderate rate. engine operation was excellent. While a French newspaper was calling the F-14 the pearl of the Paris air show, spectators at the highly acclaimed international event event with calling the Tomcat's performance nothing short of spectacular. Commander Jim Taylor and Lieutenant Kurt Strauss put production airplane number 22 through its paces during the air show. After additional performances in England and Spain, the crew flew nine hours non-stop from Madrid to the Texans grid to Texas and New Maryland using in-flight refueling before returning to Miramar, California. In July, another event with an international flavor occurred at Andrews Air Force Base Roman test pilot donated some of the F-14's low altitude capabilities for his Royal Imperial Highness the Shah of Iran. A knife edge pass. Here he's pulling 7.5 G's at 400 knots. A touch and go at 100 knots, then climbing to 1000 feet. This landing will be less than 2,000 feet of ground roll. The Shaw then had an opportunity to have a closer look at production aircraft number 22. This year has seen the attainment of the goals that were set for this time period. Of the 5,000 hours total flight time on the F-14s, 20 percent, or 1,000 hours, has been dedicated to formal Navy evaluation, with another 1,000 hours accumulated by Navy crews. There are 33 aircraft in flight status. The first two fighter squadrons are operating independently and in January will achieve total Navy support. The flight crews are transitioning into the new weapon system smoothly and on time. Maintenance training is preparing those who will support the aircraft in the fleet. The next step will be deployment. please remember to like and subscribe. And as always, thank you for watching. the the you
