The black smudge at the back end of the airplane makes it look like an F-4 but the smudge is only black marks on the tarmac. The plane looks identical to this inteh close up: http://www.airshowreport.com/f14.jpg
Yep, F-14. It's parked on the engine test pad in the maintenance area. (The parking area is to the south, in the covered hangars). The cleared area behind the aircraft is a result of hot exaust killing off the vegetation and blowing the area clean. This aircraft is about to undergo, or has recently undergone, an engine runup test. You might have noticed the vehicle near the plane, at about the 10 o'clock position relative to the nose of the plane. That is likely a fire truck standing by, just in case. (Fuel trucks park much closer to the plane when they're fueling them, so it's unlikely a fuel truck).
Anonymous
@ 2005-11-03 21:23:21
Thanks for the great info. kjfitz, go ahead and replace the thumbnail with a close up if you are also able to include the landmarks Analogman mentioned in his comments.
You're right about the difference Google Earth resolution makes over that of Google Local's resolution. There's no mistaking that that is an F-14, while in Google Local, it's questionable whether its even a plane at all.
http://www.airshowreport.com/f14.jpg
Thanks for the help.