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A001 ::Legendarno
a ovo je pilot koji je to uradio i ponesto o njemu
The pilot was Capt Dale "Snort" Snodgrass, at the time Executive Officer of VF-33 with more than 4,800 hours in the F-14, currently Director of Congression- al Liasion, US House of Representatives.
The photo from the USS America in the summer of 1989 is widely seen, and most folks think it was either an edited photo, a risky maneuver, or a crash in progress. However, Snodgrass explained: "It's not risky at all with practice. It was my opening pass in a Tomcat tactical demonstration at sea. I started from the starboard rear quarter of the carrier, slightly below flight deck level. Airspeed was about 270 kts with the wings swept forward. I selected afterburner at about a half-mile out, and the aircraft accelerated to about 315 kts. As I approached the fantail, I rolled into an 85-degree bank and did a hard 5-6G turn, finishing about 10-20 degrees off of the boat's axis. Microseconds after this photo was taken, after rolling wings-level at an altitude slightly above the flight deck, I pulled vertical with a quarter-roll to the left, ending with an Immelman roll-out 90 degrees and continued with the remainder of the demo. It was a dramatic and, in my opinion, a very cool way to start a carrier demo as first performed by a great fighter pilot, Ed "Hunack" Andrews, who commanded VF-84 in 1980-1988.
The photo was taken by a Petty Officer who worked the flight deck. The individual with his arms behind his back was Admiral Jay Johnson, immediate past Chief of Naval Operations for the USN."
Here's the Story behind the picture:
If you've researched information on the F-14, it is pretty likely that the name Dale Snodgrass has appeared somewhere in what you've read. "Snort" is virtual legend in the Tomcat community, and with more than 4,800 hours in the F-14, he is the most experienced Tomcat pilot in the world. Over a 26-year career in Naval Aviation, he had moved from being the first student pilot to trap an F-14 on a carrier to commanding the US Navy's entire fleet of Tomcats as the Commander of Fighter Wing Atlantic. Now retired, Snort is on the airshow circuit, flying a wide range of aircraft, from the F4U and P-51 to the F-86, MiG-15, and MiG-17.
The accolades for Snort's flying are long and distinguished.....twelve operational Fighter Squadron / Wing tours, including command of Fighter Squadron 33 during Desert Storm, the Navy's "Fighter Pilot of the Year" in 1985, Grumman Aerospace's "Topcat of the Year" for 1986, a US Navy Tomcat Flight Demonstration Pilot from 1985-1997, and numerous decorations for combat and peacetime flight.
SimHQ.com recently had the honor and privilege to speak to one of the premiere naval aviators of his generation....Captain Dale "Snort" Snodgrass.
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