Legendary fighter plane on display at Depot

rock45

Active member
A blast from the past I wonder why the guidance systems are intact still? Isn't that against some Navy rule displaying aircraft? Anyway good seeing a Tomcat.

Legendary fighter plane on display at Depot
September 09, 2008
TOBYHANNA — A F-14 Tomcat recently joined the ranks of military exhibits along Hap Arnold Boulevard at Tobyhanna Army Depot.
The Navy fighter aircraft is armed with Sidewinder missiles that are maintained at Tobyhanna. This aircraft was the last to leave the naval fleet.
The F-14 is a carrier-based aircraft, entered the U.S. Navy inventory in 1972 and retired in September 1996. The fighter was placed on display last month and is on loan to Tobyhanna from the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Fla.
"Tobyhanna maintained the guidance and control systems for the AIM-7 Sparrow and the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile," said Robert Lamanna, adding that the depot still works on the Sidewinder.
Employees also maintain the APX-72 Identification Friend or Foe Transponder, KY-58 Communications Security and Airborne Radio Communications radios, he added.
Lamanna is a former Navy pilot and was instrumental in bringing the F-14 here. He is also the chief of the Business Management Division.
Unique to this Tomcat is the Skull and Cross Bones insignia that was adopted by Fighter Squadron 84 in the 1950s.
The squadron was later nicknamed the "Jolly Rogers."
Tobyhanna Army Depot is the Defense Department's largest center for the repair, overhaul and fabrication of a wide variety of electronics systems and components, from tactical field radios to ground terminals for the defense satellite communications network.
Tobyhanna's missions support all branches of the Armed Forces.


Link & picture
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080909/NEWS/809090321/-1/NEWS01
 
She's truly a beauty.

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By the way, interestingly, the only other country that flies F-14s is our beloved Iran. :smil:

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Which makes one wonder, maybe we should think twice before we sell those F-16s to Iraq?
 
Never should have been retired, IMHO.
I agree with Major there. I hear Iran still flies theirs. Have they all lived their 'economic lives' to the end? Why not sell/transfer to allied countries and turn them into cash? Then sell upgrades/mods and make even more cash? Or attach political strings and use our clients?
 
Money vs. gains

Just not worth the money needed to bring them up to specs even just for AIM-120 + radar upgrades. Maybe some sort of land deployment for base protection or coastal patrol but even then there not cost very effective on the maintenance end.

I think bring back A-6s for A-Stan bombs trucks duties make more sense. Deploy them in country and save the wear and tear from the carrier landings. Good range and payload and could be used as buddy re- fuel other aircraft as well. I assume in this role they could out perform an F-16?

With the Navy spending on new ships, Hornets, and F-35s, plus another 50 projects I'm leaving out sadly no way F-14 or A-6s will be back.

Want to go back a little further I'm sure A-7s could be found with plenty of hours of life left but I'm reaching. :wink: African or South American counties would kill to get upgraded modern A-7's in place of Mirage F1, Mirage III, Kfir, Mig-21, J-7, etc. Dreaming :smile:



Greece was the last user and I think that type has been retired, somebody correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Greece was the last user and I think that type has been retired, somebody correct me if I'm wrong.
Still in use with HAF, but planned to be retired by 2012. They're using the two seat A-7Hs as trainers. Lol, they even take them to NATO's Tiger Meet. I'm thinking they're inclined towards getting Rafales from their French buddies.

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Want to go back a little further I'm sure A-7s could be found with plenty of hours of life left but I'm reaching. :wink: African or South American counties would kill to get upgraded modern A-7's in place of Mirage F1, Mirage III, Kfir, Mig-21, J-7, etc. Dreaming :smile:

Really, those old birds are better than the new Kfir upgrades? Israeli pilots never liked the Kfir it was too heavy for air-to-air(only one kill in IAF as i know), but it made a good attack aircraft. Personally I rhink the Nesher was a far better plane, if were talkin air to air, and had an accapteable ground attack role.

The problem is all these platforms are gettign so old even with upgrades they are just falling apart and cost millions to keep flying. Israel has this problem with the F-4, which i tink, though im not sure, was retired. The F-4 is an exellent platform but they were getting too damn old to maintain. Its sad but thats life. Old tanks being retired breaks my heart thinking of, cause i feel like they sort of shout out-"hey, i can still do buissnes, dont make me a range target!":)
 
Kfir

Hi SHERMAN
I know I'm reaching a little with the South America/African country comment. Colombia is having 12 older I think C-3 or C-7 upgraded to C-10CE standards and buying 12 more from Israel, plus a convert 737 tanker as well.
The EL-2030 radar, good weapons system, Debry and Python IV, never saw anything mentioning Python V, so as far as I know only Chile have Python V's, please correct me if I'm wrong.

I know the Kfir's are useful platforms but if something goes down between Colombia and Venezulea, the Su-30 MK2V are just in a different class.

I wonder if Israel would be allowed to sell Colombia ACE upgraded Israeli Vipers? They could share some of the same weapons as the Kfir's and give them a little more to work with.

I think this is the forth year for Venezuela's pilots so they should just be starting to get good in their new Flankers. Colombia's AF is falling behind in a bad way but I assume the US would help if something broke out?

I would like to see a cocky Venezuelan pilot eyes bug out when the Derby goes active?
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Well theres not much Israel can do, our sells to foreighn markets are under alot of US control. Like you say the Kfir is not a natural interceptor. It is based on a dogfighter and was intentended as an attack aircraft, it would stand no chance against an SU-30, their ages apart. Sounds to me like they need to get some f-16s or maybe Eurofighters or Rafaels.

The Israeli missiles are very good as ive heard, but the Python is a close range missile, not a long range Radar fight sort of a weapon. Israeli aircraft carry AIM-120s, to supplement the Pythons.
 
Python

I know the know the Python is short range missiles most IR types are, the Python a little better then others. From what I've read about Python V it might be the best IR missile out there right now. Both the Python V and 9X seem to be rated the highest. Israel sells the Derby missile as radar guided type to certain customers and I'm pretty sure Colombia will be buying them.

Israel is usually a little tight lipped on who and what they sell but I think Chile bought some of the Derby types with there F-5 II/III upgrades years ago. I saw a picture of Python III on a Ecuadorian Kfir but don't know if Ecuador AF purchase any Derby radar guided missiles or even Python IV's.

You can Google different missiles ranges but take the information with a grain of salt.
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As it should be.
 
I wonder why the guidance systems are intact still?
That's not how I read the excerpt -- to me, I read that the Depot in general had maintained the guidance system on those missiles in the past.

I remember talking to a Tomcat maintenance officer once -- he told me that for every hour in the air, they needed something like 8 hours of maintenance on the ground, whereas it was just about the exact opposite for the Hornet...maybe an hour of maintenance on the ground for every two or three hours in the air...

I still miss the old Turkey. :(
 
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