Memories.... My RIO and I did one air show fly-in during the mid 80s in New York. The Reapers had a full schedule and we were at Oceana off cruise when a "special" request hit the east entrance. Highlight of the day for us was not the fly-in but a "once in a lifetime" lunch with Bob Kress. Diamondbacks Baby Anywhere Any Weather Anytime
Beautiful teamwork. The RIO continuously gives the pilot the situational awareness, aircraft configuration, and flight information without the pilot ever even needing to think about looking down at his instruments, although of course he did.
@@pogo1140- Well this B model did not being from VF-101. However some other units with A and B models got a HUD upgrade which had full panel display capabilities (airspeed, altitude, Gs, AOA, etc.) just like the Hornet. Also all D models had it, the last Tomcat. Look up "VDIG-R upgrade" for more info if interested.
@@Nfarce I saw the notes when grumman was testing and trying to get congress to fund it. God I wish they had fully funded it and the full conversion to the D.
@@pogo1140 The D would still be in service today and likely getting something similar to the F-15EX now that the Navy realized we need fleet defense to contend with China. Supposedly one of the aircraft being submitted as a proposal takes design cues from the Tomcat but that just seems like wishful thinking...
@MAR the F-14 was not only the most beautiful machine on God's green earth, it also happens to be the best naval Fighter/Interceptor/Attack of all time. Could dogfight with the pure air superiority fignters, was fast enough to get to adversary and brought one of the most powerful radars ever put into an American fighter to the fight and last but not least the Bombcat was more accurate at placing bombs than an F-15E ;).
its so crazy watching this knowing I was on the beach for this air show as a child. I remember hearing the pilot through the speakers on the ground. WOW just wow.
I love how the wings bend it’s so impressive that engineers figured out how to make them dissipate the huge amount of forces without needing unrealistically strong materials
That’s one of the things I’ve always wondered about these airframes and how they are built. I’ve seen a couple videos where they briefly cover the welding process which I think it’s highly classified or at least they would want our adversaries to have to work really hard to learn this.
The RIO in the video is Dean "Demo" Castillo. He flew with VF-103 "Jolly Rogers" prior to joining VF-101 as an instructor RIO. So, that explains the VF-103 helmet. VF-103 never flew demos, this was only handled by VF-101. So, the jet they are flying belongs to VF-101 and it's either an A or a B model Tomcat. Judging from other F-14 demos from 2002, they would have been flying an F-14B.
I was in VF-74 from 91 to 94 and then went to VF-103 in 94 when VF-74 was decommissioned. Went to VF-101 from 95 to 97. Then went to VF-14 from 97 to 99 but transferred just before they transitioned to the Super Hornet Spent 3 years at NAS Oceana AIMD before transitioning to VF-31 from 2003 to 2008
Incredible video and shows how amazing F-14 was in airshows. Once the wings fully swing back, it looks like an arrow. You barely see them. Also, this is a B model with the GE-110 engines. Notice how they shut off the afterburners in high G turns because those engines added so much energy that in high G turns, so much thrust can result in some airframe components getting stressed. Though, F-14 was built like a tank and could take very high G loads.
For those with a question, the F-14 is either an A or a B just by looking at the striped ejection handles above and behind the RiO's head. The Ds had canopy breakers in that position instead.
@@contraststriker8198 well then show us the video. I worked on the F-14 A and the A+/B variant The A was prone to compressor stalls during certain maneuvers so they would not do those which A few are in this video.
This is video gold and totally agree; no annoying Music as fighter jets don’t need any extra hype. I was fortunate to be an ordnanceman with the Aardvarks at Miramar and there was a Friday friends and family day airshow 86 or 87 and a stud tomcat pilot flew a simple but awesome performance. he basically flew a big elongated U pattern, stalling and flipping over at each top point. Then he would come barreling down with a different pass each time; straight, inverted, barrel roll, knife edge, etc…. It was awesome.
I was 6 years old on the ground looking up at this , it was my earliest memory of anything in the air , the fact a recording like this exists of that exact show is incredible, Ft Lauderdale beach doesn’t even look the same nor is it as populated .
Great video! The flying looked spot on, but what I really loved was hearing the crew coordination and the RIO basically talking the pilot through all the maneuvers. Fantastic!!
Witnessed an F14 demo from a boat (not this show) and of all the aircraft this one blew everyone away… the sound of those twin engines in full afterburner literally shook our boat…. A lifetime memory…. F14s are (were) Amazing.
Been watching this for years! The best view from rio's seat and best clear comm's from rio to pilot.....always wished the video went from takeoff through to landing. But, we have to give grace for what we get!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you.
Thanks for dropping the music. I remember watching them do the night demo off of Ft Lauderdale beach. At 9:00pm they would come down Sunrise Blvd in full afterburner and the show was on.
What a cool video. I love the F-14. Only got to see it fly once back in the 80s at the El Toro Airshow. The sky was overcast and they almost cancelled remaining flights…I was nearly devastated. Then they gave the go for flights and I saw this bird fly. Great memory, great plane!
Now that was badass. It was awesome hearing all the calls and communications going on between the pilot and RIO. That speed of heat pass was the best!!!!
So much skill on display.. flying a legendary aircraft, and I’m a Brit! 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 Sad times that the swept wing Tomcat and now our own Tornado are no more..
This is incredible. Great professionalism. Just in case anyone thought they simply go up and randomly fly around - they’re flying with total precision, coordination and choreography! Also I think when he’s calling ‘cans’ that’s AB. I think cans means open the burner cans. If I’m wrong please correct me.
I finally realized that under these conditions , around 400 knts or under, the wings are constantly moving 5. or so degrees. Maybe because of low altitude? IDK . But thanks for the stationary camera!
Behind the RIO's head and ejection seat. The camera is pretty close to the RIO's head so you can't see both of them. You can get a glimpse of the starboard vertical stabilizer every so often when the RIO moves his head.
This is awesome! Would love to know when this was. My favorite line is at 2:48 - "Cookin' the crowd." As a bonus, mute the audio and play the song "I'll Stick Around" by the Foo Fighters. It just WORKS.
I used to watch the Reaper demo practices every Wednesday morning while laying on the turtlebacks of another Reaper tomcat. I sure took them days for granted...
Poetry in motion. God bless all of you who design, build, maintain, repair and fly the eagles that serve as our great country’s tip of the spear. God Bless America🇺🇸
Look at the spoilers , Wing Sweep working as advertised and of course both TF30 P414A AUGMENTED TURBOFAN PRATT AND WHITNEY ENGINES WORKING 4.0 , AS WELL AS THE F14 AIRCREW FLIGHT COORDINATION...OUTSTANDING! GREETINGS FROM AD1 (AW/SW) ANGEL MARTE USN RETIRED 1985 THRU 2005...GO NAVAL AVIATION...
I miss that air how. Me and my to kids and most of the time a few of their friends hitting the beach around 3AM watching the sun come up. Spending the day till midnight. then going to the airport the next day and watch the planes coming and going to and from the show. Funny how it was the same people showing up every year. F-14 doing the nite show with full afterburners. my favorite plane. "ANYTIME BABY"
10-6 on the Gas The RIO knows everything that has been planned for the flight. RIO has a very important role in the flight ops. 6-8 on the gas....oh oh oh baby, we are vapen
