F-14 Tomcat Scenes from "The Final Countdown" HD Part1

[realkman666]

Do I see a Prowler in "that" scene? O_o

[ghostrider5360]

Just that little bit of Tommycat footage..Blew away the whole shitty top gun movie!

[ww2guy100]

@ghostrider5360 yeah i never cared for that movie but i cant say tom cruise is a bad actor

[STARCHILD159]

Cool concept...But true!1 modernday carrier,the jet's on that carrier could have smoked any thing back in ww2...Including the whole Japanese fleet.

[MARRANUELGARZA]

TALK TO ME GOOSE...OR NOT

[bigbengamer]

links are broken. files are gone.

[KrisRamJ]

I loved the air ops stuff in Final Countdown. Even though it was a scifi movie it showed modern carrier ops in a more true to life way than anything before or since. It'd all be ridiculous looking computer graphics if it was made these days.

[Skybolter]

LONG LIFE TO THE F-14 TOMCAT

[Wolfman053a]

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and CVW-8... plus two ZEKE replicas from what's nowadays known as the Commenorative Air Force (they were the Confederate Air Force back then.)

[lovatojonasfan1]

We got 2 zeroes. 2 what? Lol

[timcat4843]

This clip looks so good in HD.

Can you post the entite movie in HD here?

[lockerdogs]

great post  ty :) love this film :)

[JPacheco91]

Where can i see the entire movie online?

[chaleco1987]

The quality of the video is great.

I wish you wouldn't have cut the part when the tomcats shoot the zeros down!!!

Great video nonetheless.

[erngre]

Jolly Roger. :)

[PeoplesWar]

1980? This looks like 2010.

[Puzzoozoo]

@PeoplesWar Hardly, the F14 is now no longer in service.

[Dakers11]

Todays fighters Look more like ... like Insects. It seemed like the YF-23 that used Ruddervators, much like the tail feathers of an Eagle or Hawk. I'm wondering if the scientific community studied this. Does anyone else see this too?

[Dakers11]

@mgwilliams1000. Is that the Puking Dogs of VMF143 ?

[mgwilliams1000]

@Dakers11 Yep, de-commisioned squadron now....... what a shame.

[mgwilliams1000]

@mgwilliams1000 Nope, now is VFA-31 flying F-18F's. I helped transition them to new aircraft at NAS Lemoore in California. They are still based out of NAS Oceana in Virginia. And yes, still have old Felix with his bomb painted on the side. Proud outfit and I'm proud to have served with them. I'm retired now.

[mgwilliams1000]

Oh, one more thing... How could you not be cool with Tomcat squadrons who had names like "Jolly Rodgers" and "Pukin Dogs"???

[Deanbabylon]

The good old Tomcat was the top of the line when this film was made.

It may not be the most modern plane (it is in fact decomissioned in the us) but it is still the most beatyfull plane. Even the F22 can´t compare to it (by sight)

[mgwilliams1000]

@Deanbabylon Right on! 30 year Navy Aviation MCPO here. A magnificient carrier aircraft. And it fought till the end. VF-31 Felix (yes, the cat with the bomb from original "Fighting 8" in WWII) delivered on the last combat missions on USS Lincoln during Iraqi Freedom.

[Deanbabylon]

@mgwilliams1000

I wonder why they preferd the F18 Super Hornet?!....it isn´t faster...it doesn´t have more heavy payload then the F-14. And with an experienced pilot, it isn´t more maneuverble. only it´s avionics were better. But coulnd they upgraded the F14????

[mgwilliams1000]

@Deanbabylon Just too old airframe wise.  An all steel aircraft with big engines. the Super Hornet is almost all composite construction, Still, the Tomcat was beautiful, don't you think?

[lockerdogs]

@mgwilliams1000 yep loved how the wings swep back awsome :)

[mgwilliams1000]

@Deanbabylon Yes, too old an airframe the Tomcat. We went crazy getting parts for it, and manhour to flighthour time was ridiculous. The Super Hornet filled two specific roles that the older Hornets and f-14's could not. More fuel which meant more range and can carry more ordnance and be able to bring it back to the ship without jettising it at sea. Forget stealth (althought the F-18E/F is very stealthy), performance and payload at sea is the key.

[Deanbabylon]

@mgwilliams1000

But as far as i know, even the Super Hornet isn´t as fast and can´t carry as many air to air missiles. But it does have a better compabilitie with air to ground weapons then the F 14. In modern anti terror campanes (lets disregard the question if those campanes make sence at all) the F 18 Super Hornet is probablie the better plane.

But i would love to habe a modern Super Jet wich design is based on the F 14 (SWAT Cats is a good idea *smile*)

[mgwilliams1000]

@Deanbabylon I only know that the Tomcat was a magnificient aircraft for it's time in history. The future will bring us planes that will blow our mind at their capabilities. That said, I feel fortunate that I got to touch it, see and make friends with the men who maintained it, talk to the aviators who flew it.  And last of all, got to know it.... as we figured out how to park it in the hangar and position it on the flightdeck, clean-up it's mess and make it ready for it's flight......

[nakazatoGTR]

this video is so good that i think someone with an HD camera jumped back 30 years ago.

[hamace]

I think this movie was a little bit of a show for the Soviets, whom we had just finished discecting the MIG25.

The F14 was far superior to anything in the Soviet arsenal.

[nakazatoGTR]

@hamace addednum:

even now.

sad they are gone.

[Deanbabylon]

@hamace

Yep, it was. A good MIG 21 Pilot may have had a chance in super sonic dog fight (only to survive, not to win) but until the release of the MIG 29 Fulcrum, the F14 was the best. (at the time the movie was released the MIG29 was already combat ready)

[hamace]

Great scenes. The clearity was briliiant. Everything today is IMAx this and HD that. This movie was 30 years old and it looks as good as anything today.

[TalksWithDirt]

One complaint. The radio chatter just a few seconds before the opening along with the "Have a nice day!" then the burners are lit is just classic. Too bad it's not there.

[TalksWithDirt]

This is by far the most beautifully filmed military aviation film. The HD really brings back the knock out effect of the visuals of the aircraft in flight. This movie is still my standard against which I compare aviation movies.

[hamace]

@TalksWithDirt I couldn't agree more. Imagine, it was made 30 years ago..At the time there wasn't much film on Carrier operations cause of our tensions with the USSR.

[TalksWithDirt]

@hamace I was 10 YO when this move came out. While there was a lot of coverage of carrier operations then, a lot of it was in 16mm, and with such a small and obscure set of non-inter-connected nets at the time, not hope of using something like YouTube. Even if your desktop could handle the data onslaught. The pure scenery of real jets operating left my jaw on the floor. Someone has to re-do this movie in 3-D with real jets, no CGI. Too bad all you could have today would be a bunch of F-18's.

[homerguy123]

F-14 IS THE BOMB

[Yeahthatsawesome]

2:48 is great...i love how the pilots will do some weird signaling, the goofy head flexing the pilot does mimicks the catapult action very closely. Good stuff.

[opshadow1]

Great shots and video. VFA-103 is an excellent squadron. The F15 Eagles in this video are great aircraft as well. I'm partial to the F14, but the F18 is amazing as well. These are the old F14's too, before they got rid of the afterburner. The Navy banned us from using afterburners at all altitudes on the D and B variants after several aircraft were overheating their engines and crashing.

[SpartanWarrior198]

I don't mean to be rude, but where in this video did you see F15 Eagles?

[harryhaslerx]

He doesn't, because there aren't any.

His knowledge of fighter jets is nearly zero. Otherwise he would have known that the F-14's in this video were related to VF-84 and not VF-103.

So, don't worry ;)

[opshadow1]

Sure thing Harry. The 103 is also the Jolly Rogers, just didn't pay much attention while watching, sorry. You're right, but not about my experience with aircraft. How many have you flown wise guy? Let me tell you, none. I'm sorry I only glance at flight videos that people send me by the hundreds. Paid it little mind the first time. It is a nice clip with excellent shots of the Tomcat. Tried to leave you a nice comment, but I was doing several things at once. The Nimitz had 14's and 18's on her.

[xTomcatsForeverVF84x]

opshadow1 was a Tomcat pilot himself you know........I'd take his word!

[kickZtailout]

Says who? No Tomcat pilot would ever be confused about VF-84. It was one of the most famous Tomcat squadrons. Also, no Tomcat pilot would refer to a Tomcat squadron by using VFA. All Tomcat squadrons were VF denoting them as fighter squadrons. BTW his afterburner comment is ridiculous. VF-31, which was one of the last operational F-14 squadrons continued to use afterburner through to the end of their final deployment, which makes it easy to debunk that story.

[xTomcatsForeverVF84x]

He is mentioning the squadron insignia on the Super Hornets.

[kickZtailout]

I know what he's mentioning... and if he ever flew Tomcats he'd know that VF-84 had the skull and crossbones before VF-103 ever did, and their tailcodes were never the same. To top it all off I've never met a Tomcat pilot, regardless of how young they were that didn't know about this movie... and they'd all tell you right off the bat that was VF-84 if you asked them.

[opshadow1]

You're right. Thought I saw a VA-97 18 in it, but after paying closer attention while watching this clip, I noticed there wasn't an 18 in it. That's what I get for flipping back and forth between several videos at the same time.

[Skybolter]

I DIDN'T SEE ANYONE

[nick0912nascar]

Great footage and in HD too GREAT!!!!!!!!!!