One of the most famous combat aircraft in history, the legendary Grumman F-14 Tomcat made its first flight exactly 53 years ago. Immortalized by movie Top Gun - Indomitable Aces (1986), the jet has already been retired by the United States Navy, but continues to operate in Iran.
Under the command of test pilots Robert K. Smyth and William Miller, the first Full Scale Development (FSD) Tomcat prototype, registration 157980, took to the skies one month before the date stipulated in the contract with the Navy. Taking off from Grumman headquarters in Calverton, Long Island, they made only a few circuits with the aircraft, returning to the airfield due to adverse weather conditions.
Unfortunately, the first Tomcat prototype was short-lived, being lost in an accident on 30/12 on its second test flight. During the flight, the crew of the flirt plane (an aircraft accompanying the other on a test flight) noticed a trail of smoke coming out of the Tomcat, with the plane subsequently suffering a hydraulic failure.
Already returning to Calverton, the aircraft presented another hydraulic failure. The pilots, again Smyth and Miller, attempted to use the Combat Survival System, which was supposed to provide hydraulic power to the tail control surfaces. This system also failed and they were forced to eject, surviving with only some minor injuries.
Even with the loss of the first plane on its second flight, the Tomcat program continued. The F-14 had 12 prototypes, of which three were lost in test flight accidents.
Four years later, the best-known of the 'Grumman Cats' entered service with the United States Navy, being the first 4th generation fighter in history and also employing the world's first microchip in its AWG-9 radar.
Although powerful and well armed, the F-14 was also an expensive and difficult aircraft to maintain, whether due to the problematic Pratt & Whitney TF30 engine or the variable geometry wings. Thus, apart from its country of origin, only Iran acquired the model, where it still flies due to sanctions imposed by the West.
In the United States, Tomcats stopped flying in October 2006, after 32 years of service, giving way to Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet. To prevent parts smuggling to the Iranians, the US government chose to destroy most of the remaining aircraft.
Even so, more than 5 decades after its first flight and 17 years after its retirement by its main operator, the F-14 Tomcat continues to attract the attention of many enthusiasts, from the youngest to the oldest, still occupying a prominent place.
