jonesy1275 Posted September 24, 2012 Share #1 Posted September 24, 2012 I thought I'd share some photos I took of the Tomcats final embark whilst onboard the USS Theodore roosevelt back in July 2006. VF-31 Tomcatters was on exercise off the coast of the Carolinas where I spent the last two days of Tomcat carrier ops photographing the action. The last ever launch of a Tomcat off a carrier... I hope you like them. Neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Meatcan Posted September 24, 2012 Share #2 Posted September 24, 2012 wow! superb pix with some great action :thumbsup: thanks for posting. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Posted September 24, 2012 Share #3 Posted September 24, 2012 Very nice pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted September 24, 2012 Share #4 Posted September 24, 2012 Hard to believe that this superb, awesome plane is no longer in service with the USN. It's still much better than most of the stuff flown by "the bad guys"!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesy1275 Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share #5 Posted September 24, 2012 Apparently it was too labour intensive to keep flying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted September 24, 2012 Share #6 Posted September 24, 2012 Apparently it was too labour intensive to keep flying. Think I'd better dig out my "Top Gun" DVD and watch it again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobrahistorian Posted September 24, 2012 Share #7 Posted September 24, 2012 Fantastic pics! Sadly the Tomcat was more of a liability than an asset by the early 2000s. It was outclassed by many other platforms, and even though it had a new lease on life as a bomb truck (and a pretty good one), 15 maintenance hours per flight hour was getting far too costly to continue it in service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted September 24, 2012 Share #8 Posted September 24, 2012 Great pictures. Who are the guys with their thumbs up in the air ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Posted September 24, 2012 Share #9 Posted September 24, 2012 It's still much better than most of the stuff flown by "the bad guys"! That's right. The Bad Guys have got one F-14A from Iran but they were unable to copy such a state-of-the-art plane as they did it in the case of B-29. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Posted September 24, 2012 Share #10 Posted September 24, 2012 I thought I'd share some photos I took of the Tomcats final embark whilst onboard the USS Theodore roosevelt back in July 2006. Neil, Thanks a lot! Fantastic images with great historical value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted September 24, 2012 Share #11 Posted September 24, 2012 The last of the real fleet Iron Hand... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted September 24, 2012 Share #12 Posted September 24, 2012 The end of an era. The final fly-past! :salute: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hink441 Posted September 24, 2012 Share #13 Posted September 24, 2012 Fantastic pics! Sadly the Tomcat was more of a liability than an asset by the early 2000s. It was outclassed by many other platforms, and even though it had a new lease on life as a bomb truck (and a pretty good one), 15 maintenance hours per flight hour was getting far too costly to continue it in service. I am an old Tomcat maintainer, and we had some airframes that were averaging over 60 maintenance man-hours per 1 hour of flight. The AWG-9 radar was a plumbing nightmare. Beautiful aircraft, no doubt, but she was a b@tc& to maintain. Those are some awesome pics, Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67Rally Posted September 24, 2012 Share #14 Posted September 24, 2012 These are great shots of a sad moment in Naval Aviation history. The F-14 is my favorite aircraft. Period. I shot a few back in '89 when I spent a week aboard the Ranger. VF-2 Bounty Hunters - at the moment of trap Fired up, awaiting release of the catapult: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazelot Posted September 24, 2012 Share #15 Posted September 24, 2012 I am an old Tomcat maintainer, and we had some airframes that were averaging over 60 maintenance man-hours per 1 hour of flight. The AWG-9 radar was a plumbing nightmare. Beautiful aircraft, no doubt, but she was a b@tc& to maintain. Those are some awesome pics, Thanks for posting. Whoaa... Now I understand better why they retired it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waltz41 Posted September 24, 2012 Share #16 Posted September 24, 2012 I thought I'd share some photos I took of the Tomcats final embark whilst onboard the USS Theodore roosevelt back in July 2006. VF-31 Tomcatters was on exercise off the coast of the Carolinas where I spent the last two days of Tomcat carrier ops photographing the action. I hope you like them. Neil. Very cool, thanks for sharing. Great photos from a great photo opp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baker Posted September 24, 2012 Share #17 Posted September 24, 2012 Best fighter aircraft EVER!!! :thumbsup: Thanks for the photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobrahistorian Posted September 25, 2012 Share #18 Posted September 25, 2012 "MEATCLEAVER, MEATCLEAVER!" All of you F-15 guys out there know exactly what that means! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted September 25, 2012 Share #19 Posted September 25, 2012 Very nice pictures!! Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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