Military Aircraft Videos

Navy's iconic 'Top Gun' fighter takes one last flight -- wit

In the end, it took two F-14 Tomcats to make the ceremonial final flight of the Navy's iconic "Top Gun" fighter jet. The Navy pulled a switcheroo at Oceana Naval Air Station. The pilot, Lieutenant Commander David Faehnle (FAYN'-lee), and radar intercept officer, Lieutenant Commander Robert Gentry gave a final salute today from inside their cockpit, and then aircraft Number 102 taxied down the runway and out of sight. The plane that actually took off, though, was aircraft Number 107, with two other fliers aboard. The first jet had mechanical problems, which Navy spokesman Mike Maus (moss) calls "a common occurrence with the F-14." So the second jet, which had been on standby at the end of the runway just in case, flew in its place. The Cold War-era fighter jet was glamorized in the 1986 Tom Cruise movie "Top Gun." It joined the Navy fleet in 1972, but is being replaced with the newer F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter. The last flying F-14s will go to museums, including the Virginia Aviation Museum in Richmond.