After piloting every Navy fighter from the Wildcat to the Tomcat, Commander Glenn Tierney concluded his long military career in 1971
By giving combat-tested carrier fighters to the US Navy, the former Grumman Aerospace Corporation, now known as Northrop Grumman, made history. Each of these amazing fighter planes was not only technologically superior for its day but also named after cats in keeping with Grumman’s own style.
The number of pilots who had the particular privilege and notoriety of flying every Grumman cat over their brilliant flying careers is exceedingly small. Glenn Tierney, a true legend in Naval Aviation, is the sole surviving member of this exclusive group of Grumman Cat drivers. He also holds the title of being the only pilot to have fired the most AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles of any fighter pilot in the United States Navy AND the United States Air Force.
The documentary HUN PILOTS tells the tale of his accomplishment as the Chief Test Pilot for the missile that fundamentally changed air-to-air warfare. It is not surprising that the 96-year-old Glenn Tierney would work with the Speed & Angels Productions Team once more on their follow-up movie, TOMCAT TALES, which is available on Blu-ray at www.f14tomcats.com. Since the Tomcat was the last of the great Grumman cats to protect the US Navy Fleet for almost 66 years, it was only fitting that the final Grumman Cats pilot share his F-14 story in the movie “Tomcat Tales.”
The two documentaries’ director, Mark Vizcarra, a former fighter pilot, talks about filming this iconic person. “I love working with Glenn because every time I do, I walk away having learned something! He’s a walking screenplay and has a little black book filled with incredible stories. The only thing is, your face is going to be sore from laughing so hard. His stories and delivery are always amazing with portions downright hysterical!” In 1971, Commander Glenn Tierney retired from the service after a distinguished career that saw him pilot every Navy fighter, from the Wildcat to the Tomcat. The Vought F7U Cutlass was the sole fighter he didn’t fly, which was probably for the best considering it had the greatest accident rate of any Navy swept-wing fighter.
His Naval career was timed perfectly because the F-14 flew its first flight on Dec. 21, 1970. His boss, Admiral Hank Miller, informed him while he was at Patuxent River, Maryland, that the third F-14 to leave the assembly line would be flown back up to Grumman’s “Iron Works” in Bethpage, New York, where it was made. Tomcat 3 had breached the test envelope, according to Admiral Miller’s remark. This worn-out, battered Grumman F-14 must be returned. Admiral Miller offered his men who weren’t participating in the test program a “good deal” flight in the newest and best fighter.
Glenn Tierney promptly raised his hand and stated, “I’ll go… I’ll go!” even though he had five days left before retiring. Glenn received the nod from the Admiral at a time when the Navy fighter community was still quite loose. He instructed him to read the manual before getting a short cockpit inspection.
Glenn Tierney claims that the Admiral did add a crucial condition that was made abundantly clear. He allowed Glen to fly the aircraft for an hour and a half while he ran the wings back and forth. He cautioned him, though, not to pull too many Gs because the Tomcat had been through a lot and might start breaking. Glenn assured the Admiral there would be “no hanky-panky”. The Admiral’s final and most crucial directive to Glenn was, “keep one thing in mind – do not come back without the airplane”.
As promised to the Admiral, Glenn Tierney completed his 30-year career flying a faultless mission in the Navy’s first fourth-generation fighter. Glenn Tierney continues to appear in movies today despite having flown nearly forty different aircraft, one of which had a top speed of only 126 mph and the other of 1566 mph. The documentary “Icons of Carrier Aviation,” which is now in pre-production, is expected to feature him.
Other awesome F-14 stories are featured in the documentary Tomcat Tales available to purchase here.
Photo by U.S. Navy and Mark and Michael Vizcarra, Airwolfhound from Hertfordshire, UK, and Kogo via Wikipedia