@ Paso Robles, CA
August 2022
Developed for the U.S. Navy after the collapse of the F-111B project, the Tomcat would be the first of the Teen Series fighters, designed incorporating Vietnam air combat experience. First flown in 1970, the F-14 would serve the U.S. Navy proudly until 2006. Of the 712 F-14s built, 43 F-14As were upgraded into B variants and 38 new Bravo models were manufactured. This example, a veteran of the Gulf War, was retired in 2004, stripped of heavier military components, and flown from Pensacola, Florida to the Estrella Warbirds Museum here in Paso Robles. When the pilot was interviewed, post landing, about how fast he flew, he responded “Just over Mach 2.4, it was the lightest Tomcat I’ve ever flown.”
