Last F14 Flight - 10 Years Ago: Last F-14 Flight from NAS Oceana, VA to Republic Airport, Farmingdale NY, October 4, 2006 See exclusive photos and thoughts from those who flew and admired the F-14 Tomcat.
While many remember the Tomcat Sunset Ceremony on September 22, 2006 as the ceremonial final flight, the actual final flight of the F-14 Tomcat did not take place until October 4, 2006. That final flight was a one-way ferry from NAS Oceana, Virginia to Republic Airport in Farmingdale in New York.
Last F14 Flight
But this flight was more than just an interstate flight. It was the end of an era for the jet, which had enjoyed 36 years of exceptional service, luxury and provision. If the F-14D BuNr. 164603 - the penultimate Tomcat built by Grumman - finally landed, and the final chapter was completed in an aircraft that began its journey back in 1970.
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December 21, 1970 was the first flight of the Tomcat. Bob Smyth, along with fellow Grumman test pilot Bill Miller, was the first crew to fly the new F-14A Tomcat. They also have the dubious distinction of being the first crew to eject from an F-14 on Dec. 30 — just over a week after its first flight.
The Tomcat was notorious for leaking. In fact, it's become a running joke that the only way you know a jet is filled with liquid is if the liquid drips from somewhere. As Bob Smyth recalled, broken hydraulic pipes caused the first ejection during the Tomcat's second flight:
At this point we were about half a mile short of the runway, about 25 feet above the trees. Bill quickly initiated an ejection sequence with his face curtain. A sensitive accelerometer on the nose strut picked up small markers showing the firing of the canopy and then the firing cannons on both seats, and sent them telemetrically back to the ground. As predicted, this all took 0.9 seconds; 0.4 seconds later the nose wheel hit a tree!
My Martin Baker seat sent me about 150 feet straight up, but when Bill fired a split second later, he sent it forward and only gained about 10 vertical feet. Both parachutes opened well and neither of us was injured. Thirty minutes later, after the fire, which amounted to 10,000 pounds of fuel, was extinguished, the ground crew found two broken 5/16-inch titanium hydraulic hoses, one in each wheel well.”
File:us Navy 030408 N 7986b 005 F 14 Tomcat Aircrews Assigned To The Swordsmen Of Fighter Squadron Thirty Two (vf 32) Prepare For Daily Flight Operations.jpg
Big engines, long range, high speed wingspan, AIM-54 Phoenix missile along with AWG-9 radar system. These were the first features of the Tomcat that set it apart from other fighters of the same era. The threat was the USSR and the mission succeeded in repelling hordes of bombers over the horizon.
The Cold War with the Soviet Union required a long-range interceptor, and the Tomcat was delivered. The combination of the Phoenix missile and the AWG-9 homing radar was the first Luftwaffe system capable of attacking multiple targets simultaneously. 6 Phoenix missiles could be carried simultaneously and track up to 24 targets simultaneously - effectively "disinfecting" the airspace. Although this accusation was not particularly practical, the deterrence it encouraged was an eye-opener. The range of the radar system and the missile expanded the BVR (Beyond Visual Range) envelope and completely changed air-to-air tactics.
The legacy of this plane is not a Top Gun movie. The legacy is in America's determination to win the Cold War
While the Tomcat's long-range air combat and interception capabilities were glorified in the 1986 film Top Gun, one of its lasting legacies was its adaptability to missions. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Navy set about converting the F-14 into a ground attack aircraft. The addition of the LANTIRN infrared targeting unit, JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munitions) and FAC(A) (Forward Air Controller-Airborne) crew capabilities have turned the once proud fighter into a damn good attack craft. The Tomcat dropped bombs over Bosnia and Kosovo in the late 1990s and did so on its last operational cruise in Iraq in 2006.
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We had this beautiful 8" x 8" screen in the back seat. With that and the (Lightning) Pod, the F-14 could carry a 2,000 pound gun. It became the best choice for fleet missions... Very quickly we introduced a lightning-guided unit, laser-guided and GPS-guided weapons. In six months we went from turning on the unit to implementing it in the fleet... The best way to do something "lean" is to gather a tight group of people, give them very little money and very little time.
”–Bob Klein, vice president of logistics and technology at Northrop Grumman and the company's last F-14 chief engineer
While flexibility was key to the Tomcat's success, there was no other modern fighter capable of reproducing the sheer exhilaration and camaraderie that the F-14 Tomcat inspired.
“It was like no other plane. This became clear to me when the F-14 was last at sea in July 2006. It was only a short, cyclical 14-day operations refresh for Air Wing Eight, but more than 40 journalists from around the world showed up to report about this occasion.
Origins The Story Of The Legendary F 14 Tomcat
It was only then that I realized the fascination and significance this stream had held for so long. So many wonderful people from all over the world came not only to capture the moment, but also to pay tribute to it. I spoke to many of these people and was impressed by how the cat affected their lives as well. It was a bond we all shared and will always share. I can't imagine that connection being made via any other aircraft."
In the days and weeks after the final year, BuNo. 164603 was prepared for static display in Bethpage, New York. This included the removal of the ejection seats, cockpit instruments, twin F110 engines, avionics and the M61 Vulcan Gatling gun. In addition, everything unique to the Tomcat was removed to prevent these items from falling into the hands of Iran, the only other user of the F-14. But even as a shell of its former self, the Tomcat still held meaning for those who never flew it.
"What pissed me off was that he was never given a water salute, he was never saluted, except for the US Air Force Museum standing in a perfect line to greet the plane as it arrived. I wasn't happy with that and wanted to salute it properly, so we got herself together with the operation one evening and gave her a water cannon salute.'
Towards the end of the Tomcat's life, some souls weren't so nostalgic about the Big Fighter anymore - but that's okay. We understand that there are two types of people in this world - those who were a part of it and those who wanted it.
A Crowd Gathers To Bid Farewell To A U.s. Navy F 14 Tomcat Aircraft While It Taxis Down The Runway During Its Final Flight Ceremony At Naval Air Station Oceana, Va., On Sept
“The old soldier waxes poetic about the days of the Cold War, thinks that all this new worn-out technology can never be as good as the good old gear we used to fly, and supports McCain. I guess I'm also a Tom Clancy fetishist and a Corvette owner.”
But perhaps the best memory of one of the most famous players in the world is when he turned an F-14 Tomcat into a star. His simple statement reflects how those who flew, serviced or even admired the Tomcat still think about those 36 years.
Below are exclusive photos from this last day by photographer Fred Miller. Additionally, there is never-before-seen footage of the grinding process and the final Tomcat salute that you can view on Long Island Wallpapers.
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Although the last flight of the US Navy Tomcat was officially on 22 September 2006 during a ceremony at NAS (Naval Air Station) Oceana, the actual last flight of the Tomcat in USN colors was on 22 October 2006. In August 2006, when VF-31 Tomcatters F-14D (BuNo 164603) was transferred from Oceana to Farmingdale Republic Airport in Long Island, New York and its final landing can be seen in the video below.
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The aircraft that achieved such a milestone was the Grumman F-14D and was the penultimate Tomcat (or Super Tomcat as the D version was
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