Baby here I come!

0012hrs: Just got wonderful news today! The liaison officer in the US Embassy sent me an email telling me that there's an Aircraft Carrier tour this Sunday. Finally I've gotten my wish. I get to take decent pictures of the F-14D Super Tomcat with my SLR. I can't wait! Since this is probably gonna be the last time I'll ever get to see it since it's in the process of being replaced by the F-18E Super Hornet real soon. But maybe I shouldn't get my hopes too high. Who's to say it hasn't been already replaced on the Carrier I'm visiting. I'm gonna be on USS Carl Vinson(CVN-70), a nuclear powered Carrier. Which also marks the first nuclear powered vessel I've ever been on. It's the first nuclear powered anything I've ever been on. The first Carrier that I went aboard was USS Constellation(CV-64), a boiler powered Carrier of which now has been decommissioned with it's crew transferred over to the USS Ronald Reagan(CVN-76). The last ship I was on was a Vietnam veteran seeing several generations of aircraft off it's deck since it's commission in 27th October 1961. It was a roving piece of history and I was on a ship that had gone through a war more than a decade before I was born. I was on aboard the 'Connie' on 9 September 2001, 2 days before the terrorist attacks. After the attacks, tours on the Carriers were suspended and I thought I'd never get another chance on a Carrier.

I just found out that the Tomcat has already been decommissioned on the Connie in 2003. I do hope it's still on the Carl Vinson. I'd really like to see it one last time. I love that aircraft. And when I do see it, I'm gonna kiss it, hug it until the crew men pry my cold dead hands off of it.

The last time I was on a Carrier, a friend joked that if he hears any heavy metal dropping, he'll know it's me trying to bring home a souvenir which happens to be a Sidewinder missile.

USS Carl Vinson(CVN-70), the ship that I'll be visiting

Another picture of the Carl Vinson

The ship I visited on 9th September 2001. The USS Constellation(CV-64), commissioned on 27th October 1961, decommissioned on 7th August 2003.

Decommissioned after 42 years of faithful service to the US Navy. A witness to a major war in South-East Asia and several missions in the Persian Gulf.

The F-14D Super Tomcat. This particular jet is special to me because I saw it while I was on USS Constellation in 2001. It's the CAG's bird with the number '100'. Another F-14D that catches my eye carries the number '101'. It was the 'hanger queen' while I was there. Stupid me actually thought somebody was murdered under it because there were so much 'blood' beneath it. Well the 'blood' turned out to be hydraulic fluid. Silly me forgot that hydraulic fluid is dyed red so that it's more visible.

New and old, the F-14D Super Tomcat(foreground) is in the process of being replaced by the F-18E Super Hornet aka 'Super Bug'.

A closer look at the Super Hornet. It will take over from the Tomcat as the fleet defender. Which in my opinion the Tomcat is still more suited. The Tomcat is capable of over Mach 2 flight over the Hornet's Mach 1.8+. But the Hornet is apparently 40% cheaper to operate than the Tomcat but how can anyone put a price tag on 'cool'? The Tomcat is a movie star thanks to it's role in the movie 'TOPGUN'. While the Hornet is a plasticky jet that just doesn't look as good as the Tomcat.

A great view of the F-14's delta shape with it's wings fully swept. An ideal configuration for high speed supersonic flight.

A picture of the hangar deck at night with the 'red lights giving it a gloomy glow. The red lights are used because they don't affect nightvision.

Glossary

CAG: Squadron Commander. Only the CAG's bird have colored markings and their aircraft number is usually a whole number i.e. 100.

Hangar Queen: A jet that's been in the hangar for a long time. A jet that's brought into the hangar for major repairs usually take a long time due to avaliability of parts and in turn it's parts gets cannibalized for other aircraft.

Still conflicted at 0102hrs