What exactly is "Type 1000 storage" ?

[galileo1]

when talking about storing aircraft?

I was at the AMARC site and this caption caught my attention:

"Grumman F-14A Tomcat 161612 pictured in August 2004 shortly after it arrived at AMARC, looking pristine and free from any Spraylat which will coat it after it has been through its Process-In work. Most of the latest F-14 arrivals will be kept as war reserves in Type 1000 storage, ready for re-activation back to service if the need arises."

Based on the above I guess there still might be a future for some F-14s....Does anyone know how many were/are kept in storage? Must be "classified" info I would guess...

Rob

[Wingspan]

when talking about storing aircraft?

I was at the AMARC site and this caption caught my attention:

"Grumman F-14A Tomcat 161612 pictured in August 2004 shortly after it arrived at AMARC, looking pristine and free from any Spraylat which will coat it after it has been through its Process-In work. Most of the latest F-14 arrivals will be kept as war reserves in Type 1000 storage, ready for re-activation back to service if the need arises."

Based on the above I guess there still might be a future for some F-14s....Does anyone know how many were/are kept in storage? Must be "classified" info I would guess...

Rob

It'll probably look something like this, I took this pic in May at Davis-Monthan AFB:

The white covering is the Spraylat.

[Jennings]

Based on the above I guess there still might be a future for some F-14s

Don't count on it. There is a hierarchy of usefulness for combat aircraft at AMARC (or whatever it's called this week). Those that are totally worn out generally get scrapped first, the rest are kept in a condition where they *could* potentially be made flyable. The F-14 may technically fall into that category, but the logistics and training pipelines for the F-14 are long gone, and it would be incredibly, fantastically expensive to re-implement them - even if that were possible, which it's not. The F-14 is gone for good... Except if you live in Iran.

J

[galileo1]

Sadly I'd have to agree, J. Didn't want to see those jets go but it was their time...

Rob

[madmanrick]

I'd have to agree that there is not a snowball's chance that you'd see the Tomcat fly for the Navy again under any circumstances. The absolute main reason is that there are NO spares either maintained or even available for the aircraft, for such things as the radar etc. The training issue isn't as big of a deal, as all that would take is time and effort. The spare parts on the other hand are simply in many cases just not being made any longer. Therefore, they would have to spec'ed, sourced and then manufactured, all at incredible cost. Even in the event of all out war with say a large Asian or European country or both, the Tomcat would not be a viable go to platform. The same holds true for the A-6, A-7, F-4 et al.

Now the various F-15's, 16's and 18's (not to mention the A-10's, B-52's and B-1's) held in storage are another story. Since there are still versions of those a/c in inventory and flying, many of the parts are not only still being produced, but they are readily available. So they could be brought back with much less effort and cost and could be used as a strategic reserve so to speak.

[Camus272]

Didn't someone report (I think it was here at ARC) that there were only 8 F-14s left that hadn't been scrapped. Very sad. I really wish they would just keep the last 3 flyable for airshows someday when conditions are better (that's the number I heard was necessary to keep a demo going). It's odd to me that every airshow I go to has an F-4 demo, but its next generation replacement is gone. In fact I think the Navy or Air Force could get the F-4 back into combat easier than the F-14.

Bian

Edited December 24, 2010 by Camus272

[madmanrick]

In fact I think the Navy or Air Force could get the F-4 back into combat easier than the F-14.

Hypothetically, you may be right as there are still a fairly decent number of Phantom II's flying around the world. Therefore, some spare parts do remain, although access to them would be difficult in quantity. When an aircraft such as the Tomcat or Intruder is flown by but one service (for purposes of this argument the USMC & USN are considered one), once it is removed from the inventory it would be a herculean task to return those aircraft to service. I believe that the main reason you see NO Tomcat demos or even any in flyable condition in private hands, is due to the concerns that making them available would have meant that Iran could possibly obtain spare parts etc. I personally happen to think that event would have been inconsequential, after all the Iranian Tomcats soldier on despite the wholesale destruction of the USN Tomcats. So I seriously doubt that saving a few more for museums or even allowing a few to be flown in private hands would have changed the game so to speak.

[Gator52]

when talking about storing aircraft?

I was at the AMARC site and this caption caught my attention:

"Grumman F-14A Tomcat 161612 pictured in August 2004 shortly after it arrived at AMARC, looking pristine and free from any Spraylat which will coat it after it has been through its Process-In work. Most of the latest F-14 arrivals will be kept as war reserves in Type 1000 storage, ready for re-activation back to service if the need arises."

Based on the above I guess there still might be a future for some F-14s....Does anyone know how many were/are kept in storage? Must be "classified" info I would guess...

Rob

The table at the bottom of this page describes the different types of storage:

http://www.amarcexperience.com/AMARCProcesses.asp

HTH

Jonah