‘Maverick Act’ aims to preserve three F-14 Tomcats with restoration in Alabama

PENSACOLA, Fla. — A bipartisan bill is making its way through Washington that would preserve and possibly restore a famous piece of naval aviation history.

The F-14 Tomcat was in service with the Navy for more than 30 years and was famously used in the original “Top Gun” movie.

But when the aircraft retired in 2005, the U.S. government destroyed a majority of the airplanes that were here in the U.S. This made the prospects of the jet returning to the skies next to impossible.

The “Maverick Act” hopes to bring a jet that inspired a generation back to life.

“The Maverick Act got a lot of support,” “It passed the Senate unanimously. It now heads to Congress for a final vote.”

Pensacola Navy veteran Dan McCort can still feel the raw power the F-14 Tomcat brought to naval aviation.

“It was a blast to fly. I gotta tell you I got it,” McCort said. “I love the airplane. I love the missions because it came with a huge mission set.”

The only country in the world flying the jet was Iran. The jets were given to Iran in 1979. But when the government was overthrown, the jets fell into the hands of an anti-American government.

Because of that, when the jet retired in 2006, the U.S. ordered most of the aircraft and its parts be destroyed.

During Operation Epic Fury, American and Israeli pilots destroyed Iran’s entire Air Force, including all the remaining flyable F-14s.

“We had to take them out, but boy that was hard for me to watch,” McCort said.

A bill dubbed the “Maverick Act” was introduced through a bipartisan effort. The legislation would preserve and restore three F-14s sitting in our nation’s boneyard.

“That airplane inspired an entire nation, partly because of the movie, partly because of the times it was hard Cold War, and it represented frankly American air power,” said McCort.

“A fantastic piece of equipment that served our country well,” Congressman Jimmy Patronis said. “But I can’t help but poke fun at it simply because of what Tom Cruise has done with the most recent ‘Top Gun’ movies.”

The bill calls for the Navy to donate the Tomcats to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where they will be restored. If there’s enough spare parts, the bill calls for one of them to be restored to flight status to be flown at airshows across the country.

All of this would be funded by private donors, and not American taxpayers.

“If there’s no taxpayer dollars being used to restore these things then put it on the table,” said Patronis.

McCort says restoring the airplane will cost millions of dollars.

“A foundation that could generate some donations to defer the costs of making this thing fly because it will not be inexpensive,” said McCort. “I believe we’ll pay dividends down the road, both for the museum as well as a recruiting opportunity… as well as a recruiting opportunity for the country in general, and for the Navy frankly.”