TILLAMOOK — Leaders at the Tillamook Air Museum are seeking public help to preserve a piece of military and movie history.

Their latest renovation project is an F-14 “Tomcat” jet fighter. 

The aircraft played a significant role in U.S. Navy aerial operations during the Cold War years, but gained an additionally higher profile when it appeared in the 1986 movie “Top Gun.”

Tillamook museum staff call it “a true icon of aviation and film history.”

The museum director, Rita Welch, began a public appeal for donations, announcing that work was underway with sanding ahead of painting and work on decals later this year. 

“After nearly 30 years on display, this legendary aircraft, is showing signs of wear,” museum staff announced. “But this isn’t just any Tomcat. This exact airplane appeared in the film ‘Top Gun,’ making it a true Hollywood and aviation icon.”

Welch estimates the total project cost at $50,000, although much of that is in  employee and in-kind labor. She estimates it will cost about $10,000 to $15,000 in equipment and materials.

“The labor estimate is so high because of the sheer man-hours it will take to strip the aircraft, repair any body damage, repaint and apply the decals and stencils back to its original glory,” she said.

The plane’s full designation is a Grumman F-14A-90-GR. It was built in New York in 1975. The manufacturer’s number on its transfer to the Navy was BuNo 159848.

Tomcats replaced the F-4 Phantom and first saw action in 1981. They were “retired” in 2006 when the FA-18 Super Hornet became the preferred aircraft.

The museum’s scope of work addresses repairs to areas of the fuselage showing corrosion, plus much of the paint, which is flaking off.

The upper and lower portions of the jet will be repainted using “federal standard colors,” including “dark ghost grey” for the top and a specific shade of red for the engine intake chevrons. The “Tophatters” squadron markers and the aircraft carrier designation for the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy will be refreshed.

Members of a group of military history enthusiasts in England called the Buccaneer Aviation Group are helping with details of the markings.

“We need your help to bring her back to life,” the public appeal added. “Every dollar makes a difference. Whether it’s $5 or $50, your support helps preserve this rare piece of history for future generations.”

On film

For the record, “Top Gun” was released in 1986 featuring Tom Cruise as Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and Anthony Edwards as his radio intercept officer, Lt. (j.g.) Nick “Goose” Bradshaw. It was that year’s highest grossing film in the world. 

The Tillamook jet, part of Squadron VF-213 (the Black Lions) had been stationed aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise. It figures in three scenes, including the climatic firing of an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile.

An IMAX three-dimensional version of the movie was released in 2013. Two years later, the U.S. Library of Congress added ‘Top Gun” to the National Film registry citing its cultural significance. The soundtrack included “Take My Breath Away,” which earned an Academy Award for best original song, and “(Highway To The) Danger Zone.”

A 2022 sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick,” was dedicated to the original’s director, Tony Scott, who died in 2013. It proved to be the final film for “Iceman” actor Val Kilmer, who died April 1. Some of his lines were reportedly enhanced with sound equipment because of his throat cancer.

Some scenes were shot at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington, although movie insider magazines have reported that the Tomcats were created by the visual effects department because the Navy had decommissioned all of them.

 

How to help:

Tomcat renovation donations can be accepted online at:

https://www.tillamookair.com/f14restore