I knew that the F-14 Tomcat was slowly being phased out in favor of the F/A-18 Hornet, but I didn’t realize how far along the transition was until I came upon a report of the Tomcat’s last operational Pacific deployment. I have to admit that this made me kind of sad. The F-14 is still one of my favorite planes, and learning about it was instrumental in starting me on my path to a career as an aerospace engineer. I only had the pleasure of working on a Tomcat once here at Pax River, but I’m glad I had the opportunity to see and work with one up close and personal. I can’t remember the last time I saw one flying around the base, and it seems that Tomcats don’t frequent the airshow circuit as much as they used to. I hope I get a chance to see one in the air before they’re totally phased out… 🙁
Here are some nice pages dedicated to the Tomcat: “Anytime, baby!”
Tomcat Alley
M.A.T.S. – The F-14 Tomcat Reference Work
FAS Military Network – F-14
Grumman F-14 Tomcat
F-14 VRML (links directly to VRML file)
The Cutting Edge – F-14 Tomcat
