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Any interests in the Tomcat

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Tomcatter14

Registered User
Hello folks...I'm new to this site, used to spend some time over at SPN but got tired of all the douche-bags posting over there. Anyways just thought if anyone had any Tomcat questions or military questions...I might could help. A little Bio: Spent 7 yrs as a Marine CH-46 aircrewman. Received Navy commission through OCS, went through primary in Corpus (VT-27), then TS T-45s with VT-21 in Kingsville, been flying the Tomcat ever since. Have flown both the F-14A and B versions. I'll only be around for a short while. I'm scheduled to deploy very soon...made a cruise in 2000 and spent most of the time over Iraq and Bosnia. So, any questions just fire away.

Tomcatter14
 
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Dave Shutter

Registered User
Here's a few 'Cat questions...

What SQDN/CVW are you in? Are you guys flying B's in your SQDN? Will the D's all be retired last (let's hope!) or do they not look at the model that when they decide who goes next? What's the news on what VF's are next on the chopping block. Are newer F-14 selectees (like yourself) looking at transitioning to E/F's later on or are they going to get phased out with their birds? Thanx!
 
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Paul Burke

Registered User
Welcome aboard! It's really good to see more people who are already there posting here.

How many people do they take at a time into the F-14 FRS? How long is it? What about switching platforms to the Superbug? Are F-14 crews getting the first choice about it? What's the plan for that switchover?
 
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Tomcatter14

Registered User
Hey folks..great questions!! Anyways as far as the mishap in the Med, I won't even speculate what happened and if I did know I would not publish it for public knowledge while the investigation is still ongoing. The Tomcat RAG/FRS is slated to continue operating until late 2004 time frame. They will continue to taper off the numbers of students up to the final class. If you don't get winged until 2004...your chances of flying a Tomcat are pretty slim. Also yes overall the D version Tomcat will be last one phased out...but in reality B upgrades and Ds will make their final stands at about the same timeframe. At the FRS, class sizes usually range from 12 to 20 people, but I venture to guess that number will slowly dwindle away. Most of the present Tomcat guys are getting a chance to transition to the E/F..but the numbers are pretty equal of new "wingees" and transition guys. And finally, I am with the Jolly Rogers of VF-103 and we fly the F-14B upgrade. I am definitely a lucky guy to have gotten to fly the Turkey...it is an awesome aircraft, but I look forward to moving on with the future of Aviation...whether that be with the E/F or some other airframe.

Tomcatter14
 
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Dave Shutter

Registered User
Tomcatter14...have you ever read the TOMCAT book by RADM Gillchrist, he's a huge proponent of the TOMCAT 21. If you don't know what that was it's basically doing what they did with the E/F, building a new planes from the ground up with minor blueprint changes. One question though, taking the maintenance;up/down factor for a VF sqdn into consideration how do you avg. in the monthly hours dept. compared to your VFA contemporaries and what's it really like on the boat with birds being up or down?
 
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