By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
WAKEENEY — Rob Todd of Wyoming was cruising along Interstate 70 when he slammed on his brakes and shot off the west exit at WaKeeney.
He couldn't believe his eyes. He was looking at an F-14 Tomcat just like the ones he helped launch when he worked on the deck of a carrier when he was in the Navy.
However, as he ran his hand along the fuselage of the mighty warbird he said he almost began to cry.
The plane, which was on display in this rural Kansas community in honor of its nearby veteran's cemetery, had been severely damaged in a hail storm.
Todd was determined to get the plane repaired.
The F-14 was loaned to WaKeeney in 2006. The then-mayor of WaKeeney helped raise $40,000 to have the plane shipped to WaKeeney where it has been on display at Eisenhower Park right off Interstate 70 ever since.
The F-14 Tomcat was the premier fighter aircraft for the U.S. Navy, beginning at the end of the Vietnam War until 2006. It was the famed fighter that was flown by Tom Cruise's character in "Top Gun" and again in a portion of the movie "Top Gun: Maverick."
None of that damage was repaired, and the plane has been allowed to further deteriorate.
"This is American history," said Todd, who is also a co-host of a radio show on the F-14. "It's naval aviation history. This is a warbird. It fought in operation Preying Mantis in the '80s against Lybia. It represents veterans. It represents this community.
"It represents everyone who worked on this aircraft, who sacrificed their lives for this aircraft. You want to preserve that history."
He was determined to have the plane repaired. However, there was a snag. The National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla., still owned the plane and did not want to approve the funds necessary to repair it.
Todd began writing emails demanding repairs for the plane until he was writing multiple emails per day. This went on for years. Finally, the naval museum relented and has now given the OK for Todd to pursue fundraising to make repairs to the aircraft.
WaKeeney's F-14 served in the U.S. Navy from March 1980 until November 1998. It was part of several strike force fighter squadrons as well as fleet replacement squadrons. These included The Black Lions, Black Knights, Gun Fighters, Black Aces and Grim Reapers.
While serving in 1995, this aircraft carried commemorative markings for The Sundowners. The F-14 sat at a U.S. Navy Reserve station in Texas for five years before it was awarded to WaKeeney.
Lorenzo Bencini, F-14 Radio show producer, described the power of the F-14. A pilot who flew over Irag in the F-14 was recently on the F-14 radio show. He told of being on one side of Iraq and getting a call about troops in trouble on the opposite side of the country near the border with Syria.
The F-14 has a top speed of more than 1,500 mph. The pilot flew full throttle, crossed the entire country in about 12 minutes, dropped bombs to cover the troops on the ground and still had enough fuel to get home.
"No other plane in our inventory could have done that and today we still have that gap," he said.
The WaKeeney F-14 was dismantled and transported by truck to Kansas. This was no small feat considering the F-14's size—40,000 pounds and 62 feet long with more than a 30-foot wing span.
After it finally arrived in WaKeeney, a team of four retired military men from Virginia rebuilt the plane in a downtown parking lot. A large crane was brought in to unload the plane from the trailer. The jet became the center of attention in downtown Wakeeney while it was being rebuilt. Locals brought their lawn chairs and sat and watched for hours.
"I think it's important for WaKeeney to have this because we are right along I-70 and it reminds people of what we have gone through as a country to maintain our freedoms," said Lynelle Shubert, director of WaKeeney Travel and Tourism.
"This jet has fought for that freedom," Todd added.
When F-14s were retired from service, the U.S. had concerns enemies would begin to acquire the spare parts through the black market. Museums and memorials are now the only places where the U.S. F-14s survive.
In short, there aren't a lot of spare parts lying around for F-14s. Todd said the goal of restoration is not to make the F-14 flight worthy. The engines and other key components of the plane have already been removed. Finding the rare and expensive alloys used to build the plane is impractical.
The goal is to restore the plane using available materials to better represent its history and service as well as preserve it for future generations.
Much of the plane has been dented by hail. The canopy has been cracked. The whole plane needs to be repainted. The wind also forced the plane off of its platform.
Todd estimates the repairs will cost at least $150,000. The project will have a little bit of money from insurance because of the hail storm.
The project likely will take at least a year and a half but could be completed in phases, Todd said.
Todd is trying to rally support through the F-14 Tomcat ATG Radio Show, which is produced out of Long Island where the F-14 was manufactured.
Todd is raising funds for the restoration through a GoFundMe account under Fighting 213 F14A Tomcat Restoration. He also is recruiting craftsmen who either served in the Navy or worked in the manufacturing plants that built the planes.
You can also follow the show and the restoration progress on the F-14 Tomcat ATG Radio Show's Facebook page.