"Just to avoid all the conspiracy theorists"

No Conspiracy here. Having flown 2 Grumman product Test Programs, 3 years
at DARPA and more time at DoD then I want to admit, worked under Barton
Strong at Air Warfare, Grumman was not asked, but was told, under
contractual agreement with the DoD to destroy the F-14 tooling.

Plane (no spelling error) and simple.

As an engineering raconteur, please give me a cost analysis on storing the
Tomcat tooling. Given the prevailing atmosphere at the time, the Tomcat was
not a dead issue. Grumman had some interesting and very potent ideas on the
drawing board. DoD made their choice and as it happens way too much in the
political arena, (Ask Northrop) decision makers do not like to be proven
wrong.

Wonder why the T45 took so long to get to the fleet? As an engineering
raconteur surely you know. The decision was made to go with an aircraft
that was never intended to land on carriers. It almost drove D J Venlet,
the Navy's T45 Program Lead Test Pilot to the nut house. The DoD told the
Navy to make it work, blamed the Navy for every failure, but hey, it's in
the fleet. Underpowered, squirrelly on carrier approach, can be even more
of a handful on a cat shot, but it's a done deal.

My resume? Undergrad degree in System Engineering and a Masters in
Mechanical Engineering, F4's, 2 years at MD in St Louis in 78 &79 as an
engineering officer on the original Hornet, (Ken Grubbs and Dick Richards
flew the program) F14's, TPS, exchange tour at Boscombe Down, DARPA, DoD
Test and Development, A stint at Crystal City watching programs that should
have progressed get cut and programs, as a test pilot knowing they were a
nightmare, get approved.

Played with some interesting test beds and test programs like the F15
ADVANCE and F18 HARV out of MD, new engine program for the F14 A+, (now
known as the B) flew the X-29 that is hanging in the Smithsonian. Joint test
program on the YF22 and the X35.

Been there, Seen it, Done that.

Still active AND flying after 30 years and have never been called a
conspiracy theorists in my career.

Jake

"Harry Andreas" wrote in message
...
In article %X_pb.2467$0d2.956@lakeread06, "Jake Donovan"
wrote:

For all you Hornet fans, and I have plenty of Hornet time, maintenance
is a
big plus but you have to temper that with the fact that ALL of the
F-14's
tooling was ordered destroyed by the DoD years ago. Thus, serious lack
of
spare parts and a nightmare upkeep. Makes you wonder what a program
like
the Superbug would have looked like if it had been the F14. Range, Load
out......

Just to avoid all the conspiracy theorists....

I think it is more accurate to say that the DoD, when presented with the
continuing bill by Grumman for preserving the F-14 tooling, declined to
fund
it, and as a result, Grumman scrapped the tooling.

That's a little different from saying it was ordered destroyed.

--
Harry Andreas
Engineering raconteur