Bit of youtube nostalgia

[reddsun1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mshmYNmfc0...ted&search=

Ah, pretty sad to think that nearly all the planes in this movie are now all but lost to history. AFAIK, the once mighty Tomcats are now being shredded into dust by the gov't , due to security concerns over components and Iran's "mothball fleet." Can't help but wonder what may have become of all the cool sqdns of planes seen in this film--long since gone to a boneyard? destroyed?.

Still, as sci-fi movies go--and "aviation" movies too for that matter--this one's an alltime favorite. Those glorious Jolly Rogers colors are ingrained from childhood, and every time they come on-screen, I automatically begin visualizing: "what if they were VF-1S's instead?" Like the "stars" of the film, almost. Considering when this was made, it no doubt could have been how Kawamori-san would have been first exposed to the visually striking sqdn colors? I also loved the fact that it's a movie showing real planes in "combat." Well, 'cept maybe for the toy Zeroes they blew up and put into the drink. No CGI constructs here, baby! Pity, you'd think the "desktop heroes" would at least look at resources like this kind of aerial footage to get something of a reference for all the forces that come into play, like yaw, pitch, roll, lift & drag, inertia and gravity--the things that make planes move and behave the way they do in flight, not just like a bunch of algorithms running in a simulator program.

Yes, we know the 20mm woulda shredded that hapless Zero instead of damaging it--but we'll give 'em that one, since it was a plot device...

Ooh yeah, almost forgot a new ep. of Dogfights is supposed to premiere tonight. May have to stick around the hse and catch it...a show that has some CG aerial dogfighting that actually ain't too shabby.

Edited July 13, 2007 by reddsun1

[David Hingtgen]

The Final Countdown gets BIG points for using real F-14's. Yes, a lot of Top Gun is fake, many scenes use large radio-controlled models.

[robodragon]

The F-14 the 57 Chevy of jet fighters I believe. It's the fighter that every one thinks of first even the people that don't know much about Naval Aircraft. It's got a mean and yet elegant look. At some angles the only thing that goes through your mind is I'm in trouble now, and at others all you can do is stare in awe.

I lived in Maria Mesa in through out the entire 80's, Home of Maria Mare a.k.a. Dog fighter town. The sounds and sites of the Tomcat were part of my everyday life. I used to work at a trap and skeet range just on the north side of the runway (Maria Mare Gun Club). There was nothing more spine tingling than watching a F-14 coming from training. The approach started over Tit Mountain, wings swept back shooting strait down the runway into a left banking turn, slowing down while wings coming back out. Maybe a touch and go maybe not.

I was there when they filmed Top Gun. They did use real F-14's And F-5's in the filming My neighbor actual did some of the flying that you see in the film. I couldn't tell which ones but he flue one of the F-5's they where calling Mig-29's in the film .

I have some great memories of flybys and air-shows. I had front row seats every year for the whole week that the Blue Angles practiced before the air-show. To this day I still have to have fan noise to go to sleep because E-2's that use to do touch and go's all night.

Anyway the F-14 will always be the image that comes to mind first when ever I talk about fighter jets.

[Seven]

The F-14 the 57 Chevy of jet fighters I believe. It's the fighter that every one thinks of first even the people that don't know much about Naval Aircraft. It's got a mean and yet elegant look. At some angles the only thing that goes through your mind is I'm in trouble now, and at others all you can do is stare in awe.

I lived in Maria Mesa in through out the entire 80's, Home of Maria Mare a.k.a. Dog fighter town. The sounds and sites of the Tomcat were part of my everyday life. I used to work at a trap and skeet range just on the north side of the runway (Maria Mare Gun Club). There was nothing more spine tingling than watching a F-14 coming from training. The approach started over Tit Mountain, wings swept back shooting strait down the runway into a left banking turn, slowing down while wings coming back out. Maybe a touch and go maybe not.

I was there when they filmed Top Gun. They did use real F-14's And F-5's in the filming My neighbor actual did some of the flying that you see in the film. I couldn't tell which ones but he flue one of the F-5's they where calling Mig-29's in the film .

I have some great memories of flybys and air-shows. I had front row seats every year for the whole week that the Blue Angles practiced before the air-show. To this day I still have to have fan noise to go to sleep because E-2's that use to do touch and go's all night.

Anyway the F-14 will always be the image that comes to mind first when ever I talk about fighter jets.

I think you are referring to Mira Mesa in San Diego, if I'm not mistaken. The sounds and sights of F14s have been replaced with F18s.

[robodragon]

Yes my bad (Mira Meas) just because I lived there don't mean I can spell. And I did say it was during the 80's. If any of you know what San Diego was capital of during the 80's .

Yes they started bring in the 18's right before I moved away. That and Top Gun moved to Arizona I believe. I saw a lot of different type of aircraft in the 10 years I lived there. One I'll never forget was A F-16 doing practice over the runway before the air-show. He was wiping that thing around like I have never seen before. I swore I was about to see him crash from blacking out. Also watching the SR-71 come in was a good day. It was a kid’s paradise.

What was cool was that my grandfather trained on jets at Mira Mare near the end of WWll. He always talked about how when he was going is first touch and go the instructor had to tell him to pull up. When he asked why? The instructor told him because you just passed the runway. He was not used to the landing speed yet.

[HangPC2]

The Last F-14

I.R Iran F-14 Persian Cat