CJ Martin Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 In this thread I will post some of my personal pics taken when I was in VF-33. Most were taken underway aboard the USS America in 1985 (North Atlantic) or 1986 (Med). To start off, here is the tail of the ill fated Starfighter 213. I believe this was BuNo 161148, M.A.T.S. has the mishap date correct for this BuNo but lists it as a VF-32 bird - believe that is a typo. We got this jet just prior to departing on our '86 cruise and she was one of three block 110's we had. She was a flier, strong radar, and all around good jet. She was during a PMCF flight where somehow she ended up in an inverted flat spin. Crew got out ok, What sucks is this was the last day of flight ops before we opchoped from the Med and headed home. Not how you want to end a cruise. AB 213 paint notes: Low vis TPS scheme, note the yellow highlights within the lightning bolts. The three block 110 birds (200, 201 and 213) were the only ones with this yellow highlight IIRC. AB 200 - BuNo 161142 AB 201 - BuNo 161151 AB 213 - BuNo 161148 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CJ Martin Posted October 19, 2016 Author Share Posted October 19, 2016 More pics when I can upload more! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 I clicked on this thread expecting to see F-104s.... :( Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joerg Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 3 hours ago, habu2 said: I clicked on this thread expecting to see F-104s.... :( Me too actually, but then I thought that this is better than what I expected. Looking forward to seeing more pics. Cheers, Joerg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CJ Martin Posted October 20, 2016 Author Share Posted October 20, 2016 (edited) Hit a bit of a snag posting as I was not aware there was a limit on pics posted directly to the forum. I'm going to have to set up a photobucket account or something similar. UPDATE: That was easy! Edited October 20, 2016 by CJ Martin Updated Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CJ Martin Posted October 20, 2016 Author Share Posted October 20, 2016 (edited) Ok, here is BuNo 161142 when she was AB 200. A few things I'd like to point out here. First, the spot painting which is mostly around fasteners and panel edges. Almost all of this spot painting was done with spray cans, and it seems the paint locker never quite had the right shade of paint on hand. Any paint is better than bare metal out to sea, so this is what you end up with. Also the low vis paint was VERY hard to clean (nearly impossible) which only made things worse. Another thing I wanted to point out is the sealant on the TCS pod. This is good old -8802, a dark gray two part sealant that takes a bit of practice to apply neatly. I've seen some TCS pods where the 8802 looked like it had been put on with a bulldozer. Some guys just didn't want so spend the time to mask it right and do a neat job. It's hard to tell in this pic, but the 8802 seals the camera sides and underneath - you can see some above the anti-collision light. A lot of times the access panels directly behind the camera will also be sealed (verticals only), again it's hard to tell in this pic but I suspect it is because we used to seal that aft seam pretty tightly, like a 1/4" or so. Compare that to the front seam which because of the way the camera fit in is probably closer to 3/4" or more. The "bullet" fairing used when there was no camera installed was also sealed with 8802. TCS was a cool system and pretty easy to maintain. The first thing we would do when in port was find the jets pointing out towards the beach and run up the TCS with a video tape in the VTR. Then down to the ready room to see those topless beaches in glorious black and white! The TID in the backseat was all shades of green and not as high resolution. Edited October 20, 2016 by CJ Martin Spelling is hard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CJ Martin Posted October 20, 2016 Author Share Posted October 20, 2016 Another shot of 200. Here you see our Ordies loading the gun. Notice the soot from the gun firing - this is after cleaning. Again that low vis paint just would not clean up well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tomthegrom Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 This topic is so good! I have always liked the VF-33 jets. Keep em coming please! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CJ Martin Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 Sorry guy hit another snag with Photobucket - got tied up over the weekend with house projects, and this morning it seems I can no longer access Photobucket at work. I still have a handful of pics to post. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Frank99 Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 For those disappointed, here's a detailed virtual view of Several Starfighter versions including an Italian 'S' model, 2-seaters and an early 'B' model. http://vintagetin.net/F-104Starfighter/ For the rest, here's an incomplete virtual look at an F-14. Sorry, no cockpit ... the Navy, in their infinite wisdom, glued (yes, glued) all panels, access ports, as well as the canopy, before I could get interior shots. http://vintagetin.net/F-14Tomcat/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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