Juan Carlo / Star staff
A crane lowers a 300,000-pound F-14 Tomcat into place Monday morning at the library's Peace Plaza. Placement of the fighter jet brings the library one step closer to completing the Air Force One Pavilion.
Posted on 08/23/2005 8:25:06 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
An F-14 Tomcat fighter jet was set in place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Monday in ceremonies marking an important milestone in construction of the Air Force One Pavilion, which is expected to open in the fall.
Addressing a crowd of hundreds of guests, Rear Adm. David J. Venlet said the Air Force One exhibit and others at the library and museum tell the story of President Reagan's legacy.
"It does a great job of highlighting the military's impact in the defense of freedom," said Venlet, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for action in the Gulf of Sidra, where he was aboard one of the F-14s that shot down two Libyan jets in 1981.
Reagan built up U.S. military defenses during his two terms, 1981-90, which some historians credit for accelerating the breakup of the former Soviet Union.
The F-14, the jet Tom Cruise's character flew in the film "Top Gun," is a fighter pilot's dream machine, Venlet said.
The Northrop Grumman fighter was placed by a crane between the library's Peace Plaza and the new Air Force One Pavilion as a military band played "Anchors Away." Two F-14 jets thundered overhead in a flyover to mark the occasion.
Frederick J. Ryan Jr., chairman of the board of trustees for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation, joked: "I know that as we all watched we were thinking virtually the same thing: I hope they don't drop it."
Officials brought the 40,000-pound jet by truck overnight from Point Mugu. At 10 a.m. it was hoisted over the museum buildings by a giant crane, and then lifted once more to the spot next to the library's Peace Plaza where it serves as a symbol of Reagan's Peace through Strength initiatives.
"It was really loud. I was surprised," said Elizabeth Becerra, 9, the daughter of Simi Valley City Councilman Glen Becerra, of the flyover by the two F-14s. She and her 7-year-old brother, Nicholas, said they loved visiting the library and that the best part of the event Monday was when the jet finally reached its destination.
Rear Adm. Michael H. Miller also spoke to the crowd, lauding Reagan for restoring the nation's military strength and military moral.
"Peace through strength ... is what President Reagan bequeathed to all of us," said Miller, who is the Navy's commander of Carrier Strike Group Seven/Ronald Reagan Strike Group.
Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks was one of the spectators Monday, saying he didn't want to miss what he considered a historic occasion.
"This (the Air Force One exhibit) is going to be a national attraction, and a real treasure for Ventura County," he said.
A crane lowers a 300,000-pound F-14 Tomcat into place Monday morning at the library's Peace Plaza. Placement of the fighter jet brings the library one step closer to completing the Air Force One Pavilion.
Cool.
http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/sv/article/0,1375,VCS_239_4023109,00.html
Fighter jet installed at Reagan Library
By Stephanie Hoops
August 23, 2005
With the sun beating down on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, a crowd of more than 600 people waited for a giant crane to lower a 300,000-pound fighter jet into place Monday morning at the library's Peace Plaza.
"I know we are all thinking the same thing," Frederick J. Ryan Jr., chairman of the library's board of trustees, told the gathering. "I hope they don't drop it."
They didn't.
The installation of the F-14 Tomcat went without any major hitch. A flyover by two fighter jets did approach early and had to circle around while one speaker finished his remarks.
When the flyover planes finally did arrive, they tore through the sky in a breathtaking blaze.
"The flyby was amazing," said Sue Cook, an Agoura Hills resident who attended. "I'm so thrilled."
"It was fantastic," said Doris Edgar, also of Agoura Hills.
Several people thought they were seeing F-14 Tomcats like the one being installed, but the library's spokeswoman, Melissa Giller, said they were actually F/A-18 Hornets, which are slowly replacing the retiring F-14s.
Placement of the F-14 Tomcat brings the library one step closer to completing the Air Force One Pavilion, an 87,000-square-foot building that will house the 152-foot-long Boeing 707 that President Reagan used extensively during his eight years in the White House.
"The development and use of the F-14 Tomcat served a vitally important role in rebuilding our national defenses during President Reagan's administration and will forever remind us of the importance of a strong military," said R. Duke Blackwood, the library's executive director.
Construction began on the pavilion project in October 2003, and library officials anticipate that it will be open to the public in late October of this year. The date has been pushed back, according to Blackwood, simply because it's hard to know what might arise with construction.
"There's always challenges," he said.
Another major installation to be accomplished at the Air Force One Pavilion before its doors are opened to the public is the construction of an Irish pub, which will sell sodas and chips during the day and can be rented at night to groups wanting to sell alcohol.
The reason for the pub's installation goes back to 1984. Reagan was in Ballyporeen, Ireland, searching for his roots when he and his wife, Nancy Reagan, stopped at O'Farrells pub for a drink. According to the Irish Examiner, Ronald Reagan was served a pint of Smithwick's, and his wife a glass of Carolans liqueur. The famous president made such an impression that a room was named for him at O'Farrells.
About a year ago, the owners of O'Farrells contacted the library because they were closing the pub and wanted to know if the library would like anything. The library did.
Around March, pieces from the pub were shipped to the library. The parts will be used to re-create the pub at the pavilion. Beer taps, signage and countertops are among the items that await installation.
Giller said that the pub will be the last big installation before the pavilion opens.
Still, getting the jet craned over to the pavilion and put in place was a big relief for Blackwood.
"I can't tell you the anxiety we went through in preparing for today," he said. "Our prayer session this morning seemed to have worked."
> 300,000-pound F-14 Tomcat
Heavy, man.
30,000 pounds is with Ted Kennedy in the RIOs seat.
I have three pictures the Reagan Library sent in a donation letter for this. One is of President and Nancy Reagan waving from Air Force One. The other two are artists drawings of the Air Force One Pavilion. Lots of interesting info included.
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/wwii/rr.htm
The Commander-in-Chief
President Ronald Reagan
1981-1989
Several years after graduating from college and while employed as a sports announcer by a radio station in Iowa, Ronald Reagan began taking home-study U.S. Army Extension Courses. He enrolled in the program on Mar. 18, 1935 and by Dec. 1936, had completed 14 courses.
He then joined the Army's Enlisted Reserve Corps at Des Moines, Iowa on April 29, 1937 as a private in Troop B, 322d Cavalry. On May 25, 1937 he was appointed a second lieutenant in the Officers' Reserve Corps of the Cavalry and on June 18, 1937, he accepted his officer's commission.
Following the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Lt. Reagan interrupted his acting career and on April 19, 1942, went on active duty. This was not achieved without some difficulty because when Lt. Reagan took his first physical exam, he was not accepted for active duty due to eyesight difficulties. His persistence finally triumphed and he was given another exam which he passed.
However, he was classified for limited service only, which permanently denied to him his ambition of serving overseas. His first assignment was at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation, Fort Mason, Cal., as Liaison Officer of the Port and Transportation Office.
At this time, the AAF and Warner Brothers Studios were planning a feature motion picture to be entitled "Air Force" and wanted Lt. Reagan for the leading role, so on May 15, 1942, he applied for transfer from the Cavalry to the AAF.
The transfer was approved and on June 9th, 1942, Lt. Reagan was assigned to AAF Public Relations as P.R. Officer in Burbank, Cal. and subsequently to the 1st Motion Picture Unit in Culver City.
Lt. Reagan was promoted to first lieutenant, Jan. 14, 1943, and on Feb. 26, he was sent to the Provisional Task Force Show Unit of "This is the Army" at Burbank. Following this duty, he returned to the 1st Motion Picture Unit and on Jul. 22, 1943, was promoted to captain.
As the result of a personal request from the Secretary of the Treasury to the Secretary of War, Capt. Reagan was ordered on temporary duty to New York City in Jan. 1944 to participate in the opening of the 4th War Loan Drive, after which he returned to California to the 1st Motion Picture Unit.
On Nov. 14, 1944, he was assigned to the 18th AAF Base Unit at Culver City where he remained until the end of the war. On Sep. 8, 1945, he was ordered to Fort MacArthur, Cal. for separation, effective Dec. 9, 1945.
While on active duty with the 1st Motion Picture Unit and the 18th AAFBU, Capt. Reagan served as Personnel Officer, Post Adjutant, Executive Officer, and even Commanding Officer, often two or more at the same time.
On May 15, 1945 in a memo to Gen. H.H. "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General of the AAF, Maj. Gen. James P. Hodges, the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff for Intelligence, wrote that Capt. Reagan "has proven himself to be an officer of exceptional ability, demonstrating unusual initiative, and performs his duties in a superior manner. Captain Reagan has received a 'superior' efficiency rating continually since 1 Jul., 1943." The reference to "unusual initiative" undoubtedly resulted, at least in part, from Capt. Reagan repeatedly volunteering to assist in producing and narrating AAF motion pictures, in addition to his regular duties. By the end of the war, his military units had produced 400 training films for the AAF.
In 1945, Capt. Reagan was recommended for promotion but because there was no major's vacancy in his unit at the time, the request was not approved. On Apr. 1, 1953, his commission in the Officers' Reserve Corps was terminated as required by law and his military affiliation apparently ended. On Jan. 20, 1981, however, he became Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Gotta figure that they pulled the engines, radar and just about everything else. They might have ballasted it to prevent it from tipping on it's landing gear.
My Dad remembers a B-36 on static display down in Texas during the late '50's. It had been stripped down. A gust of wind came along overnight and the plane was sitting on it's main gear & tail pointing skyward the following morning. He said that they poured concrete into the nose to prevent a repetition.
A college buddy of mine was involved in a night 'recon raid' down at Annapolis in which a group of Midshipment carried an A4 Skyhawk over their heads from the field house all the way to Tea Court where it was discovered at morning formation. The Skyhawk was returned to it's former location & chained down. I guess the Phantom sitting next to it was a bit too heavy to bother with.
What does an F-14 Tomcat really weigh? 300,000 pounds or 40,000 pounds as stated in the original post? Nothing like a little confusion so obviously stated?
I think I would prefer flying a 40,000 pound F-14 over a 300,000 pounder any day of the week? Yikes..
Right. Piss Poor editing strikes again.
FRom the Northrop Grumman web site,,
http://www.is.northropgrumman.com/products/navy_products/f14/f14.html
F-14 Takeoff Gross Weight
76,000 pounds
F-14 Tomcat Max. Takeoff Weight 72,900 Lbs. (Got this from Google in 20 seconds) Newspeople are ignorant and lazy.
An empty F14 weighed 42,000 pounds and Max takeoff weight was roughly 73,000 pounds. I would imagine that this Reagan F-14 gutted for show would weigh more like 30,000 pounds. Just maybe someone added the extra zero in the second post to come up with 300,000 pounds.
> 72,900 Lbs.
and I imagine that's full o' fuel.
Perhaps they could have included some debris from the Gulf of Sidra yacht club...
LOL, it would over 60 cubic yards of concrete to get that F-14 to 300,000 lbs. That's over six fully loaded trucks.
F-14 of VF-41 flown by Henrik Martin Kleeman & David J. Venlet on the Sukhoi Killing mission.
Source Drendel, Lou - ...And Kill Migs, Air to Air Combat From Vietna Gulf war, Squadron Signal Publications, Inc. 1997.
Venlet is a veteran F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornet pilot, graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School here, and was the first Navy pilot to land a T-45 Goshawk aboard an aircraft carrier, USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), in 1991.
Johnston said that in 1981, before becoming a pilot, Venlet was a radar intercept officer aboard one of two F-14s involved in what has become known as the Gulf of Sidra Incident. The two F-14s were deployed aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and were on a combat air patrol covering a nearby missile exercise when they were engaged and fired upon by two Libyan Su-22 aircraft after the F-14s crossed Libya's "Line of Death" flight zone. The F-14s evaded the missile and were cleared to return fire, subsequently shooting down the two Su-22s with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, the first combat kills for the F-14 aircraft. Venlet received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his role in the incident.
Venlet was born in Pottstown, Pa., and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1976. Fleet tours include VF-41 as a Tomcat RIO deployed with USS Nimitz. Redesignated a Naval aviator, he served with VF-143 as an F-14 Tomcat pilot deployed with USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and in Fleet Replacement Squadron VF-101 at NAS Oceana, Va.
Designated an aerospace engineering duty officer in 1988, he is a graduate of TPS and holds a master of science in aerospace engineering. Venlet served as a test pilot at NATC Patuxent River.
NAVAIR tours include the F/A-18 program in various capacities including class desk officer and deputy program manager. He served as executive assistant to the commander, NAVAIR, and then served as program manager for Air to Air Missiles (PMA-259) involving AIM-9X development.
Venlet assumed command of NAWC Weapons Division in January 2003 with responsibility for Navy weapons and systems RDT&E and fleet support capabilities at China Lake and Point Mugu. He is also the NAVAIR assistant commander for test and evaluation across NAVAIR national test and range capabilities. He is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and has flown 28 different types of aircraft, accumulated over 3,100 flight hours and 560 carrier landings.
Four VF-41 fliers that participated in the short dogfight with two LARAF Su-22s on 19 August. From left to right: Lt. James Anderson, Lt. Larry Muczynski, Lt. Dave Venlet, Cdr. Henry Kleeman (CO VF-41). (Tom Cooper collection)
Historical note: This plane was named after Tom Moorer and another admiral with the same first name who fought for it and were instrumental in getting it produced as a replacement for McNamara's earlier adjustable, swept wing fiasco which killed a number of Navy test pilots when it went of the end of the carrier into the drink because it could not consistently land within the length of the carrier. Tom Moorer was very proud of having killed that turkey and having had a major role in replacing it with this great aircraft.
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