Bucking Bar

You post great stuff but I gotta call shenanigans on a DL captain being the high time F-14 pilot. Dale Snodgrass with 4,800 hours in the Turkey is widely recognized as the high time guy and retired after 26 years in the USN.

 

A F14 could not possibly intercept a Concorde flying at mach 2. It could get in a firing solution but it would never be able to join up. In addition the distance from the mainland to where the Concorde was running at supersonic speeds would preclude any type of intercept without extensive air refueling assets for the F14. Supersonic intercepts are very difficult to run to a firing solution and impossible to actually catch and join up with a aircraft at mach 2 plus. Not enough fuel, distance, airspace and time.

 

No less a source than our Smithsonian says you are correct.

This gentleman (who's name I am not going to post) flew USN, then went to Grumman where he did production test work on the aircraft coming off the line. I do not recall what he said his TT in T was, but in production test work, flying profiles in every single new airplane as it is built a guy can get a lot of time if the program is moving along. Maybe he was the highest time in some variant and I missed the distinction, maybe the D since that would fit the timeline.

 

Delta airlines ordered the 767 with a flight engineer position. We were the one of the few if not the only airline to order the 767 this way. The aircraft started down the production line configured for a FE. Boeing at some point told Delta that they would not build the aircraft with a FE station. Ship 101 was on the line built for the FE. Subsequent airframes the FE station was deleted however they did not move the cockpit bulkhead fwd until the 300 came out. That is why the 200's had the huge cockpit. Ship 101 since it was set up for a FE on the production line was shunted off to a mod line to be reconfigured. Ship 102 became the first 767 delivered to Delta and became the Spirit of Delta instead of ship 101 because of this.

 

In the late 60's it was not unusual to see a 27-28 year old DC-9 Capt at TWA, 7 years later they would be lucky to hold 707 F/O.

 

Departing from Grumman's facility at Calverton New York, interception of a Mach 2 jet coming straight at Long Island is kinda what the jet was designed to do. For the D model the profile seems to fit, especially when production test flight work and a known Concorde schedule allow for practice getting the separation, break and turning radius / energy solution right. ... and yes, accomplishing the feat did get some attention for the reasons you elaborate on. Seems like a neat test profile which would allow for the efficient test of the aircraft's systems.

I dunno; the fastest I've ever been is in Row 6 of an L1011 with a Captain who was a commuter on the last leg of a four day which had been delayed due to a mechanical. I am certainly not expert enough to question what the man said. I've read even the Super Hornet, while a better all around platform, lacks the fleet defense capabilities (speed, carrying ability without a significant drag penalty, and endurance) of the D model. But again, I'm no expert.

Who would ever believe we used to shoot down satellites with F15's, but we did.

 

Ship 106 was a screaming piece of crap. [DL]

 

Yup. As one who did quite a few intercepts, I agree. IMPOSSIBLE TO DO.

 

Anything could get into a firing solution, especially carrying an AIM-54 - - JUST GET OUT IN FRONT POINTING AT IT!

Of course intercept doesn't nescessarily mean join up in formation - that is just one type of intercept.

Yes - BB seemed to be talking about testing F-14s coming off the production line - but *intercepting* anything didn't require launching from the mainland for the mighty Turkey.

Not sure what you meant about supersonic intercepts being very difficult to run to a firing solution. In what way?

 

OK, found a link to some trials flown officially ...

Now as I understand the story, it too repeat practice, which was probably unofficial (and didn't need to be as long as the stern intercepts maintained lots of separation). The Tomcat would be flown approximately 80 miles lateral separation and the turn would have to be started well before the abeam point at an altitude and bank which allowed the jet to retain the most energy (shallow) then return to New York.

Next time I fly with the gentleman I am going to beg him to write A&S Smithsonian or a similar repository. Seem like an interesting story which might amuse those who say "nah no way."