For all of us fans of the F-14 Tomcat, it is now officially retired. The ceremony and symbolic last flight was yesterday at the Oceana NAS. I heard about it on the radio and read it in our local paper but couldn't locate the story on their website to put here. A Google search produced the same AP story from the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...p;type=politics
Full Version: Last run for the Tomcat
So it ends... Thanks for the posting. Maybe now I can buy my very own, lol (there was a MIG-21 on E-Bay about 6 months ago, so who knows). BTW, the links at the bottom of the article are pretty good. You might want to check them out. I learned quite a bit.
When you buy your Tomcat, can I come and sit in the cockpit??
I looked at the links after you mentioned them; hadn't even noticed they were there. Very interesting. Thanks for the heads-up.
I looked at the links after you mentioned them; hadn't even noticed they were there. Very interesting. Thanks for the heads-up.
Quote:
When you buy your Tomcat, can I come and sit in the cockpit??
You make it sound so dirty , lol.
Hmmm. . . you may have a point If I try to come up with another phrase, I'll probably make it worse so will just leave it alone!
Well it's now really official. The "Last Cat Standing", VF-31's "Felix 101" is no more. She left Oceana today for her final flight back home to Grumman, where she will be demil-ed and put on display
A Final Salute
Destiny Awaits
Hail and Fairwell
**NOTE** Not my photos.
A Final Salute
Destiny Awaits
Hail and Fairwell
**NOTE** Not my photos.
And a link to some video: Tomcat's Final Landing
Great photos! Thanks for putting them in here. It looks like the remaining Tomcats have been retired with a lot of love and respect.
Is there a way to know how many were built during their years of service? I also am kind of curious how many were lost over the years, sad as that may be. Hopefully many of the pilots/RIOs ejected.
(How many did Harm lose during the 10 years of JAG? I'm thinking of at least 2 - the ramp strike and the one he was ferrying back to DC before Mac's wedding. Seems like there was another. And there's the MIG he and Mac were in while in Russia. I wonder how many $$ this would add up to??)
Is there a way to know how many were built during their years of service? I also am kind of curious how many were lost over the years, sad as that may be. Hopefully many of the pilots/RIOs ejected.
(How many did Harm lose during the 10 years of JAG? I'm thinking of at least 2 - the ramp strike and the one he was ferrying back to DC before Mac's wedding. Seems like there was another. And there's the MIG he and Mac were in while in Russia. I wonder how many $$ this would add up to??)
THANX YOU
Here's a link to the message board they came from: Fenchcheck Tomcat Thread. WARNING: This is currently the last page (it just keeps growing) of 174. Yes, 174 pages, not 174 posts. There are a lot of pics here! But not all of them are pretty. Nothing sadder than to see some that have been completely stripped.
There were a total of 710 Tomcats produced, 79 of which were sold to Iran. There is a link somewhere in that thread I linked to that gave listed (by BuNo)what happened to each aircraft, but I can't find it right now.
There were a total of 710 Tomcats produced, 79 of which were sold to Iran. There is a link somewhere in that thread I linked to that gave listed (by BuNo)what happened to each aircraft, but I can't find it right now.
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