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In Memorium to The Last "Cats"

Talyn

Talyn

SAINT
Founding Member
who's last active service is coming to a rapid end courtsey of the IDF.

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An F-14D of VF-31 “Tomcatters” during the type’s last operational cruise in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005/2006, armed with a GBU-12 Paveway II.

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The Last Cat: The F-14 Tomcat and its Fleet Air Defense Role

The final member of the Grumman cat family, the F-14 Tomcat, with its signature variable-geometry wings and twin-engine design, became an iconic symbol of
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IAF Stray Cat "A"
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Tomcat was a great aircraft. Hated to see them pulled from service and then being destroyed rather the put in storage simply to keep Iran from getting parts. Now of course all Iran has left are parts😏
 
Shibadog said:
Tomcat was a great aircraft. Hated to see them pulled from service and then being destroyed rather the put in storage simply to keep Iran from getting parts. Now of course all Iran has left are parts😏
Click to expand...
sadly tomcat got obsolete in as much as parts and time required between flights to make it ready to go again.
its an awesome aircraft, but man hours versus flight hours ultimately was its demise
HOWEVER nothing made your hair stand up like a tomcat at full bore flying by the ship....
not the the f18 is that much better, but it is presently

as a helicopter guy
h3s killed us in man hrs vs flight hrs. even simple daily inspection took 4 to 6 hrs to do it right, then another countless hrs to fix the stuff that was wrong.

h2s weren't much better, but they were small so less things to break....but still ate our lunch after 24 flight hrs or a quick turnaround. yep quick is not the word.. i suspect most of my shoulder damage is from H2s maintenance

h60s were a leap fwd
fly 24 hrs, spend 2 inspecting for another 24
even 30 hr and 60 hr inspections took a few hrs vice a day.
they are like tractors, dont shut down and keep adding fuel fly until you run out of time
unless something broke... they are very dependable aircraft in the navy varaint
 
Last edited:
powerboatr said:
sadly tomcat got obsolete in as much as parts and time required between flights to make it ready to go again.
its an awesome aircraft, but man hours versus flight hours ultimately was its demise
HOWEVER nothing made your hair stand up like a tomcat at full bore flying by the ship....
not the the f18 is that much better, but it is presently

as a helicopter guy
h3s killed us in man hrs vs flight hrs. even simple daily inspection took 4 to 6 hrs to do it right, then another countless hrs to fix the stuff that was wrong.

h2s weren't much better, but they were small so less things to break....but still ate our lunch after 24 flight hrs or a quick turnaround. yep quick is not the word.. i suspect most of my shoulder damage is from H2s maintenance

h60s were a leap fwd
fly 24 hrs, spend 2 inspecting for another 24
even 30 hr and 60 hr inspections took a few hrs vice a day.
they are like tractors, dont shut down and keep adding fuel fly until you run out of time
unless something broke... they are very dependable aircraft in the navy varaint
Click to expand...
Yeah, operational costs were brutal
 
All after my time, unfortunately. But a Fox-4 could get loud! Had one “salute” the hill I was on after responding to a call for fire. Hit his afterburners as he passes and the pressure knocked the large water barrel off the top of the Col’s shower. Boy was he pissed. Rest of us groundpounders thought it was great. Still like to hear the “music”.
 
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