Forgotten Vets
- Thread starter ryan1234
- Start date
Matt13C
Well-Known Member
I like where your head is at.
CFI A&P
Exploring the world one toilet at a time.
Looks like the NAS Pensacola Navy Museum, flight line bus tour.
Hacker15e
Who am I? Where are my pants?
I have big plans for one of those Catalinas…
I bet it would, indeed, take big plans to convert an Albatross into a Catalina.
Love these old airplanes. Last airplane I REALLY liked was the Tomcat. Everything after that is like a mass produced Ford. Sorry, you Hornet, Falcon, Goshawk types.
Even the A-7 was sexy in its own way. The F-111 always held my attention more than the RA-5. Something about that lawndart Vigilante nose. And to try to land that thing on a carrier.... No thanks.
What's with turning a Tomcat front end into a wheeled cart? Disgraceful...
That's NAS Pensacola's Museum of Flight. I spent a lot of time over there when I was in A School. It's an odd feeling of wanting to cry, and trying to figure out how to "bust em out of jail". They may not let the general public back where these photos were shot, but I may be wrong. It's right next to the active taxiway for one of the runways at Sherman.
Even the A-7 was sexy in its own way. The F-111 always held my attention more than the RA-5. Something about that lawndart Vigilante nose. And to try to land that thing on a carrier.... No thanks.
What's with turning a Tomcat front end into a wheeled cart? Disgraceful...
That's NAS Pensacola's Museum of Flight. I spent a lot of time over there when I was in A School. It's an odd feeling of wanting to cry, and trying to figure out how to "bust em out of jail". They may not let the general public back where these photos were shot, but I may be wrong. It's right next to the active taxiway for one of the runways at Sherman.
ryan1234
Desensitized Member
Every Tues and Wed morning they let the general public out on the flight line to watch the Blues practice. The FL gulf/seaside environment isn't exactly kind to those aircraft.
ozziecat35
4 out of 5 great lakes prefer Michigan.
Awesome pictures, is that a Connie in the background?
Murdoughnut
Well sized member
I'd like to have that F-14 nose in my living room - would make a cool talking piece.
///AMG
Well-Known Member
I wish they had been mass produced more....then we would have some spares right now, instead of 6-8k hr jets that need new center barrels and high flight hour waivers. But out of curiousity, what makes the Tomcat more desireable to you than a Hornet or Viper? I always loved the Tomcat, but I'd much rather have my Hornet or someone else's Viper than an F-14 from a practical standpoint.
SteveCostello
My member is well-known.
This should answer your question:
But seriously... not to derail the thread too much, but why is it that we have at least a few mothballed versions of nearly every combat jet we've ever used, EXCEPT the Tomcat? Because Iran? I have a hard time believing that we could not have controlled the supply stream to the point we could not ensure no spares ended up over there.
ryan1234
Desensitized Member
I'd take the Scooter for the mere sexy-factor...
One of the most combinations was the Blues with the Scooters.
Outside of it just being more badass, you mean?
I like its stance. I like the way it looks super mean and aggro sitting on the flight line. I think that the way it squatted when it was getting shot off the cat is stuff legends are made of. Coming into the tanker, it looked ferocious.
Mostly, it's sentimental with the Tomcat... I remember seeing Top Gun in the theatres. I saw it somewhere in the 5 or 6 times ballpark. I had never seen a Tomcat up close at that point in my life, but I knew, it would be my goal in life to get up close to one.
We went to Miramar the following summer while we were vacationing for the summer in Mission. I told my parents, "I'll be right back", and went over to the hanger that said "TOP GUN" on it, and looked inside. There in all of their broken down, panels removed, engines in full display was the F-14 Tomcat. Back then there were no ropes, no MPs, etc. I walked right up to the VF-1 CAG bird, and just stared at it. I was in awe of the size, the presence, and the engines. I was young, 11 or 12 at the time, so you can imagine the scale. A group of pilots were walking back to the squadron, and watched me as I stared at this airplane. I got nervous, like I was in trouble, and started to walk away, but they stopped me, and one of them took me around the airplane, and put me in the cockpit. He spent TIME taking me around the airplane, showing me as much as I wanted to see, and answered every question my wildly curious mind could muster about the airplane. It was one of those life changing events. He didn't have to do that, but he did and it fueled the dream. Unfortunate life circumstances prevented me from making that dream a reality, but it served to motivate me, and missing that opportunity made me swear to myself that I would never fail at anything I set my mind to ever again, and I wouldn't let anyone tell me that I couldn't do something.
I had my name called over the loudspeaker and was told to report to the lost child area that day, but I been changed, and my parents would have never understood what had just happened in my little soul. The ride back to the house at Mission had me smiling ear to ear, and I couldn't have cared less that I couldn't go to the beach when we got home.
I saw VANDY1 fly into Mirimar that summer, or the following summer, and she was pure sex.
That I got to photo Vargas as she departed NMM to DM and AMARC with her jet was one of the moments that made me think that I had "done it". Like I had accomplished something on my own, with people supporting me. Like I had come full circle, back to being 12, and was just a kid with a dream. I was a newly minted local controller as an E5, on my 1st duty station, taking pictures of the airplane that fueled the dream. Sorta surreal.