I was there. I was an Aviation Electrician in VF-33. I remember being on the flight deck at the time. I was our shops troubleshooter. Believe it or not this was not the craziest thing he’d done. Once in Key West the squadron was doing flight ops and maneuvers against other aircraft. Snort brought his F-14 back with a couple panels missing and calfax’s that held panels down were missing or loose. After viewing video he was in a tight extremely high G turn shooting the other aircraft. He stressed the plane to its limits. 😂😂. Needless to say that f-14 was down for some time. He always said “give me guns” RIP Snort honor to serve
Thanks for sharing. He has admitted several times that he used to pull 9 - 10 G all the time in Tomcat essentially because his father was a test pilot at Grumman who told him Grumman over-engineered airframe to withstand 13 G. He is on video of 1x2 against two F-5E Tigers and he gunned both of them down.
Was there also as VF-33 IWT troubleshooter. I can remember a boat det where we pulled into Mayport to catch the C-9 back to Oceana. Snort was pissed, as XO, was assigned to fly the C-9 back with us troops. Said he hated flying in anything that he was not flying! As some of us were waiting with him he told us he directed a crew back at Oceana to fly down to Mayport so he can fly the jet back and that he would be in afterburner most of the way back. We could hear the afterburners roar as we walked down the gangplank! Lol!
@keithbrightwellaerialprod wow! Cool story thanks for sharing. The man was meant to fly , there's no other way to put it. RIP Mr Snodgrass... 🇺🇸LEGEND
@@Mthammere2010 In the knife edge pass, no he was not. It was only executed at 300 knots so he was doing no more than 7G. However, in a lot of airshows and BFMs, he was famous for pulling 9 - 10 G all the time in the Tomcat. There is an airshow video where he literally swaps ends of an F-14A Tomcat in full afterburner just 50 feet over the runway.
RIP Snodgrass. In his own personal statements to the media, he never got into trouble with Brass for this bank-over flyby. The photo that was taken is legendary. -------------------RIP Snodgrass. Nelle sue dichiarazioni personali ai media, non ha mai avuto problemi con Brass per questo sorvolo di una banca. La foto che è stata scattata è leggendaria.
This is correct, in fact, if you look at the personnel on deck, the man with his arms behind his back was an admiral, I think he went on to become the CNO.
I knew him...pretty awesome pilot...superior flying skills RIP "Snort" "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the Earth with your eyes turned Skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return" now your up there for good Snort, enjoy your rest + reward/you earned it
When Snort was with Draken International I sent him some photos and stuff to sign on a whim - for me and my uncle who was a captain for UPS on the Airbus A-300 at the time. I got a package in the mail with the stuff and a really nice note to me and my uncle. He was not only a legend, but a gentleman.
Only problem is that you'd likely start a war with the US- the US has put F-14s under their weapons embargo, they keep very close track of every Tomcat airframe in museums to make sure none ever fly again, and to make sure nobody sells parts off of them to the Iranians, who still operate modified Tomcats (although the US doesn't like that at all). I wish it could happen too, but the US government says otherwise. (Funny thing is by banning the F-14 they're literally saying "This plane is still a threat, we're still scared of it.") LOL
I hope many saw his speech to an audience. He was amazing. Thank you for your service "Snort" .. Just wish I'd hear him say he had trusted in Jesus as his Saviour. You were a hero indeed.
1:19 Glove vanes deployed. A very tough naval aircraft. Introduced as a carrier fleet defender, ends as precision strike/CAS/FAC(A) asset. Deadly to the end.
Man oh man , the Tomcat sure is one hell of beauty and the beast, absolute legend , i'm missing it greatly , and the pilots and rios that flew in them are one lucky folks, with the help of excellent ground crews and chiefs
Any time baby!!........ My dad worked for Grumman aerospace on the f-14 tomcat and he gave me a sticker....busting the F-15 Pilots balls.......lol.... Anytime for a dogfight bitches!! The F-14 will be there.... I think they eventually had a dog fight and the f-14 came out on top..
Snort actually did well against F-15s, he said. In fact, his fini flight was a dogfight against the F-15, and they ended up something like 500 feet off the deck when it was all over. He landed that Tomcat with broken parts...he said it was a good fini flight, lol. Here is the discussion: czcams.com/video/aX265Ce4Ssg/video.html But Snort was a genius--he had a habit of configuring his aircraft, sometimes in "prohibited" configurations, to give him every possible advantage. One example is when the F/A-18s first came to the fleet. He flew a 1V1 against a Marine pilot in the new Hornet. Before the engagement, he took off, under the guise of a check flight, and burned off much of his fuel to make his Tomcat more maneuverable at the lighter weight. Then he flew the 1V1....and when it was over, the Marine pilot wanted to go again. Snort said he couldnt because he was bingo fuel, lol.
Dont know for sure , but story is that both f14a and f15a went toe to toe and Tomcat won , making the air force angry asking the congress for immidiate upgrades, thus f15's went to C upgrades shortly in service , taking the money from Tomcat upgrades thus the B version took too long and having the rest of the f14s fleet mostly on A+
@@AnytimeBaby78 No, this is not how things went. The Eagle and Tomcat programs were independent of each other money wise, there is no "taking money from the Tomcat upgrades" as each branch of the service has its own independent budget from the other branches. The Air Force is not "Taking money" from the Navy in that regard. Also, the two aircraft went head to head in various exercises, mostly individual flights and not large coordinated exercises. Dale Snodgrass, the pilot mentioned above, actually lectured at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum once, and he did discuss his own experiences against the Eagle. Keep in mind, the two aircraft were designed for two different roles, the Eagle being strictly an air superiority fighter and the Tomcat designed from the outset as a fleet defense interceptor with an additional ground attack ability, and also recon missions with the TARPS pod from the late 70s. Snort's experiences prove that more often than not the pilot is the deciding factor, not the plane. The F-15C upgrades were primarily around additional fuel. The plane was redesigned to carry an additional 2,000 lbs internal fuel, plus the conformal fuel tanks and could now carry three drop tanks if needed. Other upgrades for the -C was an over-load warning system, stronger landing gear, and a new processor for the radar, as well as a new central computer. The total allowed max weight was increased due to the ability to carry more fuel. The -C was not upgraded in an effort to defeat the Tomcat, as the Tomcat was never its intended adversary.
@@AnytimeBaby78 This is false, at least the money part is. Each branch of the military gets its own budgeting. So no, the AF didnt take Navy money to upgrade the F-15. Simply not the case. Also, as far as the F-14B goes, the -A+ was renamed F-14B in 1991. That means the F-14A+ WAS the F-14B. Seriously. The upgrade commenced in 1987, and the name change was 4 years later. There was an earlier attempt at an "F-14B", in 1973. The one change from the F-14A was the installation of GE F401 engines in place of the original Pratt & Whitney TF-30s. There was one such aircraft, BuNo 157986. It was tested, and while somewhat better, the results were still not satisfactory and the program was canceled. The plane was put into storage at Bethpage. This same aircraft was then taken out of storage in 1981 and F101 DFE engines were installed. A second aircraft, BuNo 158630, was ordered, but the Navy canceled this program again before the second plane was completed, so it was changed back on the production line to F-14A standard. This same prototype, stored again at Bethpage, was ordered to be revived in 1984, and F110 engines installed. This would become the F-14A+, which again was renamed the B. For comparison, the first F-15C rolled off the production line in 1979. You can clearly see the timing does not match up to your claim at all. The Navy had no attempts to upgrade the Tomcats at the time of the F-15C development. Hence, there was no upgrade program to take money from. As for a head to head fly-off, the Eagle simply was the higher performing airplane--ESPECIALLY against the F-14A with the troublesome TF-30 engines. The Tomcat would gain ground as far as thrust with the F-14B, but the A model was the worst performing Tomcat, generally speaking.
You never know with these great aviators, sometimes it seems they chose their own way out. Scott Crossfield comes to mind, and most recently Bill Anders. Catch my drift ? Maybe Snot had his own reasons. God Speed.
It's possible. He graduated flight school in 1974, and was the first new pilot to be assigned to the Tomcat. The promotion scale looks like this currently: Ensign must spend at least 2 years at that rank before eligible to promote to LTJG. Then, the JG must spend 2 years at that rank before eligible to promote to LT. Next, the LT must spend at least 3 years at that rank--but also, the LT needs to have 9-11 years of total military service--before promotion to LCDR. Hang on, just checked. He never served in VF-32. In 1981 he transferred to VF-101. From 81 to 83 he was with CAG-8 and was an LSO. In summer of 83 he went to VF-43 as the ops officer, and at the end of 85 he went back to VF-101. You guys were with CAG-1 and CAG-6 while he was part of CAG-8. Thanks for serving, shipmate.
'coolest flyby', not exactly, the coolest was an RAF tornado that flew by USS Ranger knife edge, wings swept BELOW the flight deck during the gulf war. insane! this is actually pretty sedate..
I was there. I was an Aviation Electrician in VF-33. I remember being on the flight deck at the time. I was our shops troubleshooter. Believe it or not this was not the craziest thing he’d done. Once in Key West the squadron was doing flight ops and maneuvers against other aircraft. Snort brought his F-14 back with a couple panels missing and calfax’s that held panels down were missing or loose.
After viewing video he was in a tight extremely high G turn shooting the other aircraft. He stressed the plane to its limits. 😂😂. Needless to say that f-14 was down for some time. He always said “give me guns”
RIP Snort honor to serve
Thanks for sharing. He has admitted several times that he used to pull 9 - 10 G all the time in Tomcat essentially because his father was a test pilot at Grumman who told him Grumman over-engineered airframe to withstand 13 G. He is on video of 1x2 against two F-5E Tigers and he gunned both of them down.
Was there also as VF-33 IWT troubleshooter. I can remember a boat det where we pulled into Mayport to catch the C-9 back to Oceana. Snort was pissed, as XO, was assigned to fly the C-9 back with us troops. Said he hated flying in anything that he was not flying! As some of us were waiting with him he told us he directed a crew back at Oceana to fly down to Mayport so he can fly the jet back and that he would be in afterburner most of the way back. We could hear the afterburners roar as we walked down the gangplank! Lol!
@keithbrightwellaerialprod wow! Cool story thanks for sharing. The man was meant to fly , there's no other way to put it. RIP Mr Snodgrass... 🇺🇸LEGEND
Didn't look like he was pulling that Many G's
@@Mthammere2010 In the knife edge pass, no he was not. It was only executed at 300 knots so he was doing no more than 7G. However, in a lot of airshows and BFMs, he was famous for pulling 9 - 10 G all the time in the Tomcat. There is an airshow video where he literally swaps ends of an F-14A Tomcat in full afterburner just 50 feet over the runway.
Served with Capt Snodgrass a True Officer And Gentleman God Bless You Sir
R.I.P. Captain Dale 'Snort' Snodgrass.
Well Maverick never got cleared to buzz the tower but Dale did!
RIP Snodgrass. In his own personal statements to the media, he never got into trouble with Brass for this bank-over flyby. The photo that was taken is legendary. -------------------RIP Snodgrass. Nelle sue dichiarazioni personali ai media, non ha mai avuto problemi con Brass per questo sorvolo di una banca. La foto che è stata scattata è leggendaria.
This is correct, in fact, if you look at the personnel on deck, the man with his arms behind his back was an admiral, I think he went on to become the CNO.
This is also correct and this was also a practice shot done before the legendary video.
He didn't bank for long, presumably long enough to get a photo but not so long a side slip could develop.
Mavericks character was essentially based on Snodgrass… He was truly the best of the best. RIP
I knew him...pretty awesome pilot...superior flying skills RIP "Snort" "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the Earth with your eyes turned Skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return" now your up there for good Snort, enjoy your rest + reward/you earned it
LEGEND
R.I.P "SNORT"
When Snort was with Draken International I sent him some photos and stuff to sign on a whim - for me and my uncle who was a captain for UPS on the Airbus A-300 at the time. I got a package in the mail with the stuff and a really nice note to me and my uncle. He was not only a legend, but a gentleman.
If I were a Saudi prince I'd restore a decommissioned American carrier and put together an airwing of F-14s and give joyrides to my VIP guests.
Only problem is that you'd likely start a war with the US- the US has put F-14s under their weapons embargo, they keep very close track of every Tomcat airframe in museums to make sure none ever fly again, and to make sure nobody sells parts off of them to the Iranians, who still operate modified Tomcats (although the US doesn't like that at all).
I wish it could happen too, but the US government says otherwise. (Funny thing is by banning the F-14 they're literally saying "This plane is still a threat, we're still scared of it.") LOL
Good luck with that
@@zyoungson215 Makes more sense and is probably less expensive than a dozen skyscrapers with 5% occupancy! A Sheik can dream can't he?
@@umaikakudolol absolutely
Gimme a rode I broke my ankle amd missed my ticket
He was not just a pilot . He was is and will be THE PILOT . Rip Dale Snodgrass 😢
What a madlad
I hope many saw his speech to an audience. He was amazing. Thank you for your service "Snort" .. Just wish I'd hear him say he had trusted in Jesus as his Saviour. You were a hero indeed.
Surreal badassery right there!!!!!! RIP Shipmate Sir! 🍻
1:19 Glove vanes deployed. A very tough naval aircraft. Introduced as a carrier fleet defender, ends as precision strike/CAS/FAC(A) asset. Deadly to the end.
I've now seen the Tomcat, F-15, 18, 16, and 22. In terms of sheer awesomeness F-14 Tomcat is still the best.
Man oh man , the Tomcat sure is one hell of beauty and the beast, absolute legend , i'm missing it greatly , and the pilots and rios that flew in them are one lucky folks, with the help of excellent ground crews and chiefs
An American legend
"..Slightly below flight deck level." (OMFG.)
Great plane, great pilot! Should have been upgraded, not scrapped!
Yep and he was legend in life and will be eternally.. in snorts poem works..."Fly Good, Don't Suck"
One of the best!
Lesson Number 1. The hardest thing about flying is the ground.
That's a proper fly by
Crazy/Beautiful…
I don't know if you all know or not but Snort crashed is personal airplane about a month ago and was killed.
RIP SHIPMATE YOU ARE AMAZING!
Snort was the eddie van halen of pilots 🇺🇸 I don't think I could give any higher compliment 🙏
Any time baby!!........ My dad worked for Grumman aerospace on the f-14 tomcat and he gave me a sticker....busting the F-15 Pilots balls.......lol....
Anytime for a dogfight bitches!! The F-14 will be there.... I think they eventually had a dog fight and the f-14 came out on top..
Snort actually did well against F-15s, he said. In fact, his fini flight was a dogfight against the F-15, and they ended up something like 500 feet off the deck when it was all over. He landed that Tomcat with broken parts...he said it was a good fini flight, lol. Here is the discussion:
czcams.com/video/aX265Ce4Ssg/video.html
But Snort was a genius--he had a habit of configuring his aircraft, sometimes in "prohibited" configurations, to give him every possible advantage. One example is when the F/A-18s first came to the fleet. He flew a 1V1 against a Marine pilot in the new Hornet. Before the engagement, he took off, under the guise of a check flight, and burned off much of his fuel to make his Tomcat more maneuverable at the lighter weight. Then he flew the 1V1....and when it was over, the Marine pilot wanted to go again. Snort said he couldnt because he was bingo fuel, lol.
Dont know for sure , but story is that both f14a and f15a went toe to toe and Tomcat won , making the air force angry asking the congress for immidiate upgrades, thus f15's went to C upgrades shortly in service , taking the money from Tomcat upgrades thus the B version took too long and having the rest of the f14s fleet mostly on A+
@@AnytimeBaby78 No, this is not how things went. The Eagle and Tomcat programs were independent of each other money wise, there is no "taking money from the Tomcat upgrades" as each branch of the service has its own independent budget from the other branches. The Air Force is not "Taking money" from the Navy in that regard.
Also, the two aircraft went head to head in various exercises, mostly individual flights and not large coordinated exercises. Dale Snodgrass, the pilot mentioned above, actually lectured at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum once, and he did discuss his own experiences against the Eagle. Keep in mind, the two aircraft were designed for two different roles, the Eagle being strictly an air superiority fighter and the Tomcat designed from the outset as a fleet defense interceptor with an additional ground attack ability, and also recon missions with the TARPS pod from the late 70s.
Snort's experiences prove that more often than not the pilot is the deciding factor, not the plane.
The F-15C upgrades were primarily around additional fuel. The plane was redesigned to carry an additional 2,000 lbs internal fuel, plus the conformal fuel tanks and could now carry three drop tanks if needed. Other upgrades for the -C was an over-load warning system, stronger landing gear, and a new processor for the radar, as well as a new central computer. The total allowed max weight was increased due to the ability to carry more fuel. The -C was not upgraded in an effort to defeat the Tomcat, as the Tomcat was never its intended adversary.
@@AnytimeBaby78 This is false, at least the money part is.
Each branch of the military gets its own budgeting. So no, the AF didnt take Navy money to upgrade the F-15. Simply not the case.
Also, as far as the F-14B goes, the -A+ was renamed F-14B in 1991. That means the F-14A+ WAS the F-14B. Seriously. The upgrade commenced in 1987, and the name change was 4 years later.
There was an earlier attempt at an "F-14B", in 1973. The one change from the F-14A was the installation of GE F401 engines in place of the original Pratt & Whitney TF-30s. There was one such aircraft, BuNo 157986. It was tested, and while somewhat better, the results were still not satisfactory and the program was canceled. The plane was put into storage at Bethpage. This same aircraft was then taken out of storage in 1981 and F101 DFE engines were installed. A second aircraft, BuNo 158630, was ordered, but the Navy canceled this program again before the second plane was completed, so it was changed back on the production line to F-14A standard.
This same prototype, stored again at Bethpage, was ordered to be revived in 1984, and F110 engines installed. This would become the F-14A+, which again was renamed the B.
For comparison, the first F-15C rolled off the production line in 1979. You can clearly see the timing does not match up to your claim at all. The Navy had no attempts to upgrade the Tomcats at the time of the F-15C development. Hence, there was no upgrade program to take money from.
As for a head to head fly-off, the Eagle simply was the higher performing airplane--ESPECIALLY against the F-14A with the troublesome TF-30 engines. The Tomcat would gain ground as far as thrust with the F-14B, but the A model was the worst performing Tomcat, generally speaking.
You never know with these great aviators, sometimes it seems they chose their own way out.
Scott Crossfield comes to mind, and most recently Bill Anders. Catch my drift ? Maybe Snot had his
own reasons. God Speed.
We need a NEW, updated F-14 ........
RIP Capt Snort and RIP USS America.
WHILE SERVING IN VF-32 I KNEW OF A LT. SNODGRASS COINCEDENCE? I WONDER IF THE SAME AVIATOR 1981- 1985
It's possible. He graduated flight school in 1974, and was the first new pilot to be assigned to the Tomcat. The promotion scale looks like this currently:
Ensign must spend at least 2 years at that rank before eligible to promote to LTJG. Then, the JG must spend 2 years at that rank before eligible to promote to LT. Next, the LT must spend at least 3 years at that rank--but also, the LT needs to have 9-11 years of total military service--before promotion to LCDR.
Hang on, just checked. He never served in VF-32. In 1981 he transferred to VF-101. From 81 to 83 he was with CAG-8 and was an LSO. In summer of 83 he went to VF-43 as the ops officer, and at the end of 85 he went back to VF-101. You guys were with CAG-1 and CAG-6 while he was part of CAG-8. Thanks for serving, shipmate.
Rest In Peace 🙏
RIP Snort🫡
I found it… Him
if that dong give you goose bumps nothing will
'coolest flyby', not exactly, the coolest was an RAF tornado that flew by USS Ranger knife edge, wings swept BELOW the flight deck during the gulf war. insane! this is actually pretty sedate..