Farewell, Tomcat

Say what you want about the movie, but the Tomcat in "Top Gun" did more for
naval aviation than any other single thing.

That's a pretty extreme statement, Jay. What do you mean by "more"?
And since you didn't include "IMHO," what evidence can you offer?

Some folks, perhaps older than you, might say the Battle of Midway
(the battle, in 1942, not the movie) did more. Or perhaps even the
movie, error-ridden as it was. Or the movie "The Fighting Lady,"
which you may never have seen or even heard of. It was made of actual
combat footage. Or the Blue Angels. Or Al Williams.

There was naval aviation, keep in mind, long, long, long, before that
silly Top Gun movie. Heck, some historians might say Glenn Curtiss did
more.

vince norris




The navy got their money's worth, times ten, from the F-14.

"vincent p. norris" wrote:

That's a pretty extreme statement, Jay. What do you mean by "more"?
And since you didn't include "IMHO," what evidence can you offer?

Anecdotal, no doubt, but from 1988 through 1990 I tried to get into the Air
Force, the Navy, and a local Air National Guard base as a pilot. In every
case I was told by the recruiters that competition was never more fierce
than this period, thanks to "that movie, 'Top Gun.'"

Needless to say, I was not accepted. I didn't have the political
connections needed for Officer Candidate School.

--
Peter


















----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

If you really think it takes political pull to get into Officer
Candidate School, they probably dumped your butt on attitude alone.

"Peter R." wrote in message
...
"vincent p. norris" wrote:

That's a pretty extreme statement, Jay. What do you mean by "more"?
And since you didn't include "IMHO," what evidence can you offer?

Anecdotal, no doubt, but from 1988 through 1990 I tried to get into
the Air
Force, the Navy, and a local Air National Guard base as a pilot. In
every
case I was told by the recruiters that competition was never more
fierce
than this period, thanks to "that movie, 'Top Gun.'"

Needless to say, I was not accepted. I didn't have the political
connections needed for Officer Candidate School.

--
Peter


















----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet
News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption
=----

sfb wrote:

If you really think it takes political pull to get into Officer
Candidate School, they probably dumped your butt on attitude alone.

That was what I was told by one of the recruiters. I had absolutely no
attitude back then.

--
Peter


















----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Anecdotal, no doubt, but from 1988 through 1990 I tried to get into the Air
Force, the Navy, and a local Air National Guard base as a pilot. In every
case I was told by the recruiters that competition was never more fierce
than this period, thanks to "that movie, 'Top Gun.'"

Your logic is a bit puzzling. If "Top Gun" directed all the eager
young kids toward Naval Aviation, the Air Force and ANG would have
been hurting, and therefore delighted to take you, if you were
qualified.

vince norris

"vincent p. norris" wrote:

If "Top Gun" directed all the eager
young kids toward Naval Aviation, the Air Force and ANG would have
been hurting, and therefore delighted to take you, if you were
qualified.

"All the eager young kids" who wanted to fly fighters after seeing the
movie were apparently smart enough to realize that the Navy was not the
only branch of the armed services offering fighter jet training.

If you are looking for some documented proof that the movie ignited an
armed forces aviation craze, you won't get it from me. All I am relaying
in this thread is what the recruiters told me at that time. I was told
that had I applied right after high school (1982), there was a shortage of
pilots and the armed services were snapping up most who came their way.

However, from about 1987 and onward (the period in which I applied in
earnest), the armed services had a glut of applicants and the hiring
criteria had been raised. These recruiters believed it was the success of
"Top Gun" that brought them so many qualified candidates. Perhaps they
were simply feeding me a line of recruiter BS? Perhaps.

And as far as me being qualified, it was obvious that I wasn't, although I
was never told why. Vision, health, and grades were all good at the time.

--
Peter


















----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

If you are looking for some documented proof that the movie ignited an
armed forces aviation craze, you won't get it from me.

No, I don't care; I was just responding to a post on the topic.

Timing makes a difference in your chance of getting flight training.
The Air Force shut down Air Cadet recruiting near the end of WW II,
just two weeks before my 17th birthday. I was bitterly disappointed.

A couple years later, the Marine Corps offered a chance to go to
flight training and I grabbed it. Lucky break, actually; I learned to
land on a carrier, which I wouldn't have in the Air Force.

vince norris

SEMPER FI Vincent! What did you get to fly in the beloved Marine Corps?

Patrick
student SP
aircraft structural mech

"vincent p. norris" wrote in message
...
If you are looking for some documented proof that the movie ignited an
armed forces aviation craze, you won't get it from me.

No, I don't care; I was just responding to a post on the topic.

Timing makes a difference in your chance of getting flight training.
The Air Force shut down Air Cadet recruiting near the end of WW II,
just two weeks before my 17th birthday. I was bitterly disappointed.

A couple years later, the Marine Corps offered a chance to go to
flight training and I grabbed it. Lucky break, actually; I learned to
land on a carrier, which I wouldn't have in the Air Force.

vince norris

SEMPER FI Vincent! What did you get to fly in the beloved Marine Corps?

Well, timing worked against me on that score!

I had learned to fly in a J-3 as soon as GA opened up after VJ Day.
My instructor was a newly discharged Marine F7F pilot. He raved about
that airplane. So after I finished Basic and went to Advanced
Training, I requested multi-engine traaining so I'd have a shot at
the F7F.

Unfortunately, when I arrived at Cherry Point with a shiny pair of
gold wings, after two years of college and a year and a half of flight
training, I was too late for F7Fs. "We're phasing them out," I was
told, "But we sure need transport pilots!"

So I spent most of my time flying R5C-1s and then R4Q-2s. You probably
know them as the C-46 and th C-119. Not very exciting duty, but there
were some good things about it. I got a lot of IFR time and
cross-countries to interesting places.

I did spend a year flying OE-1s (Cessna L-19 Birddogs) as a FAC with
the 5th Marines at LeJeune and Vieques. That was fun.

vince norris

"vincent p. norris" wrote:

Timing makes a difference in your chance of getting flight training.

That was the lesson I learned.

The Air Force shut down Air Cadet recruiting near the end of WW II,
just two weeks before my 17th birthday. I was bitterly disappointed.

A couple years later, the Marine Corps offered a chance to go to
flight training and I grabbed it. Lucky break, actually; I learned to
land on a carrier, which I wouldn't have in the Air Force.

Thanks for sharing. You were fortunate.


--
Peter
























----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----