From: niebuhr@bnlux1.bnl.gov (david niebuhr)
Subject: Goodbye, Long Island (the last F-14 is delivered) part 2
Organization: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 17:52:11 GMT

In the first article under this heading, I tried to give some of the
background of the F-14 Tomcat of which the last one was delivered to
the Navy yesterday.  I'll try to finish this article but will probably
not be able to do so in order to save bandwidth.

"To those who built it, the F-14 wasn't just a machine, it was family"
says a sidebar.

"The Navy man most familiar with the plane over the years, F-14
program manager Capt. Richard evert, described it as "a superb fighter 
for the last 20 years."  "It represented a quantum leap in fighter
capabilities," he says.

"... Armond Aronne, who planned the ejection seat, remembers describing
the plane's abilities while attending an air show with guests.  Soon, he
was surrounded.

"If you talked loud enough, you got a crowd.  If you didn't want anyone
around, you whispered."

Harold Sheprow, a retired test manager said to a group of Japanese:   

"First time on the field, this gut hit it full burner.  I mean BAM! He
was gone!"  Sheprow also says: "My airplane." 

Pictures follow of the assembly of the final F-14 along with
narratives.  In order, they are:

A book that contained the details of 37D's construction.  That was it's
number.

Bob Zeltmann, who worked on all constructions phases of the airplane as
it went from drawing board to the air.
   
  "Basically, we built it to last forever.  I don't believe there's
   anything out there that can equal what we have.  It could be a good
   fighter for another 10 years."

Jan. 22, 1992: Workstations where the planes went through final assembly
are shown next.  Just 37D is there.

Feb. 5, 1992: A flatbed truck is carrying wings from Bethpage to
Calverton via the Long Island Expressway.  Normally, there's an escort
of some kind, usually police, but there's none in this picture.

Feb. 26, 1992: A picture showing test cables being hooked up to the
plane and going back to a computer that will check the internal wiring
for defects.

  "I felt sad when I heard they wre going to end the program.  I've seen
   a lot of my friends form 15 or 20 years leaving.  But it was pretty
   exciting getting that plane ready, to me it was the greatest thing
   going," said Ben Licardi, who retired a few weeks ago and who worked
   on the F-14's fuel system.

Other pictures show the plane testing the swept wing design prior to
its maiden flight; a caption from an earlier edition of {Newsday}
showing some of the damage the F-14 caused in the Persian Gulf last
year;  workers checking the swept wing and fuel cells.

March 25, 1992: 37D is shown being towed to the paint shop; On April
1, 1992 it takes four well covered painters to give it its first coat
of paint after which they posed for the camera.  The last picture on
the page is of the stencil used to label it as an F-14D being cleaned
for the final time.

April 7, 1992: The guns are tested with 20 mm. ammo and monitered from
a safety shelter.

Other pictures show the testing during a water test which had
high-powered jets of water spraying over all surfaces for more than
an hour; checking for imperfections not visible to the naked eye and
being towed away with Emil Gagliardi in the cockpit to handle braking
if necessary.

 The last pictures depict the testing of the afterburners during a
ground test; Signals being given for the engines to start; and    
Kurt Schroeder, chief test pilot, and Ed Flanagan, the radar intercept
officer walking away from 37D.

In human terms, the F-14 program numbered 8,000 people and today 1,800
are involved in retrofitting older F-14s.  Over three hundered were
involved in 37D's final assembly.  A picture of them and the plane are
in the centerfold and their names appear on the next to the last page.

This, then, attempts to record the end of the production of the F-14,
however feeble my attempts were.

Dave
Dave Niebuhr      Internet: niebuhr@bnl.gov / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093

USNR 1959-1961
USAF 1961-1965
A VET and proud of it
-- 

Dave Niebuhr      Internet: niebuhr@bnl.gov / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093