Flight: The Romance Of Naval Aviation (1970)23 comments

23 Comments

1. Amar7605 said on January 23, 2011 at 4:04 pm

   @ludocrat Yeah the Harrier is an awesome jet with a fine history, but hopefully the F-35 will come online soon. At least the Lightning will be superior than the Harrier. As long as the next plane is significantly better than the one being replaced, then that’s progress. But with the Super Hornet, I don’t see how it could replace the Tomcat. Now, if there was an F-22 naval version, (I’m dreaming, of course) then that would be a superior step. Hopefully the F-35C will do the Tomcat justice.
2. ludocrat said on January 23, 2011 at 4:46 pm

   @Amar7605
   Horses for courses: excellent point.

   Mind you, the decision that quite simply the greatest and most beautiful warhorse of them all, the Tomcat, had come to the end of its useful life surely was a bit of a shock to all fans of fastjets and freedom alike. Its passing is still keenly felt – even by us foreigner-friends.

   We’re about to lose the Harrier forever, btw, so I think of know how you feel (sort of). Difference is, nothing comes after for us, and that’s bad.

   Best wishes
3. Amar7605 said on January 23, 2011 at 5:40 pm

   @ludocrat On the other hand, having one jet performing a wide range of missions is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just an advancement of technology and knowledge. I’m just not convinced that the Super Hornet can perform every mission it’s being asked to do well enough. It’s a great strike aircraft and I am sure that it will be a good EW platform, but I am not sure about the fleet defense role that the Tomcat did.
4. ludocrat said on January 23, 2011 at 6:00 pm

   @Amar7605
   That’s what you get when you win a Cold War. Well done, Yanks.
5. maxsmodels said on January 23, 2011 at 6:32 pm

   Sounds like Johnny Quest theme music. Cool vid of classic jets
6. KD5XB said on January 23, 2011 at 6:42 pm

   Is the Music Kenton?
7. KD5XB said on January 23, 2011 at 7:18 pm

   Interesting shot at 1:08 — it appears the pilot is wearing a helmet for a space suit and the airplane appears to be a Phantom — painted white. I bet this is an interesting flight, if only we had the specifics of it.
8. anooseholay said on January 23, 2011 at 7:31 pm

   Is there any plane that’s ever been sexier than the F-4? I hardly think so. What a beauty!
9. ironroad18 said on January 23, 2011 at 8:04 pm

   The footage of the A-3s, F-8s (RF-8s), and F-11s was slammin!

   The 60s vintage jazz was jammin!

   Keep em coming
10. Amar7605 said on January 23, 2011 at 8:55 pm

    @rkc62 Yeah it’s kind of sad to see today’s Navy relying on the Super Hornet for virtually all of its missions.
11. homeyChingaso said on January 23, 2011 at 9:11 pm

    thanks bcschmerker, I didnt know that. I have a hard time keeping up with all the production that went on in the 50s and the F1 (FJ3) sailed right passed me. Now I can win a bar bet. ‘)
12. bcschmerker said on January 23, 2011 at 9:18 pm

    @homeyChingaso Actually, the “F-86″ this video is the North American F-1D Fury (originally the FJ-3), produced in parallel with the Air Force F-86B but with a far stronger wing box for the rigors of cat shots and arrested landings.
13. brent52 said on January 23, 2011 at 9:50 pm

    A-3 Whales, A-4 Sky hawks,A-5 Vigilante, T-33, F-4.F-3,A-7 F-8,A-1 skyraider,T-34 mentor,P-3T-2 buckeye,F-89,Sh-34,Sh-47,Sh-3,P-2A-6,F-86…I think thats all the planes and helos in the video
14. homeyChingaso said on January 23, 2011 at 10:37 pm

    Wow, I’ve never seen video of a F86 trapping on a carrier. There’s some awesome footage in this video. Yeah it’s best viewed with the sound down I guess. Both the Navy and the Air Force seem to make poor choices when it comes to matching music with what they do; I used to cringe at Thunderbird shows in the 70s and 80s, haha.
15. airboyd said on January 23, 2011 at 10:51 pm

    @adventurous63 Music courtesy of the Navy. Seems odd, maybe it was for a function like a dinner or something?
16. adventurous63 said on January 23, 2011 at 11:26 pm

    I know the title says 1970, but I was an aircontrolman 3rd class stationed at P atuxent River Naval Air Test Center from 64 to 66 and I’d say most of the footage here is from the early sixties. Enjoyed the video but not the music so much. Thanks for posting though.
17. rkc62 said on January 24, 2011 at 12:08 am

    I’d forgotten how specialized Navy aircraft were – separate airframes for Fighter/CAP, Bomber, Attack, ASW, Tankers, COD, Elint/Recon, Interceptor, etc.
18. Gwedd said on January 24, 2011 at 12:33 am

    Most excellent. I loved it when we still wore warpaint on our birds.
19. TravisBickle2 said on January 24, 2011 at 1:25 am

    awesome
20. AeroSail727 said on January 24, 2011 at 1:51 am

    Good stuff. Nice to see navy classics like the A-5 and the F-11.
21. yoav180 said on January 24, 2011 at 2:09 am

    Great choise of music guys…
22. adrienlac said on January 24, 2011 at 2:36 am

    i love the combination of naval aircrafts and jazz music! Thanks airboyd
23. VoodooPolitics1 said on January 24, 2011 at 2:48 am

    Thumbs up my Friend!!