F-14 Tomcat, A-6 Intruder on display at Grumman Memorial Park in Calverton to get $67G makeover

Calverton's aviation legacy will soon soar back to life as a restoration project begins on two Navy airplanes at Grumman Memorial Park. 

Riverhead Town plans to spend $67,000 to refurbish an F-14 Tomcat and an A-6 Intruder on display at the park after complaints from residents about the deteriorating conditions of the planes. 

The F-14, first flown in 1970 and retired in 2006, was revolutionary for its precision from high altitudes. The A-6 is known as the world’s first all-weather attack aircraft and was used by the Navy and Marine Corps. from 1963 to 1997, according to the National Naval Aviation Museum.

Both planes were developed on Long Island and underwent testing in Calverton.

“They were falling apart,” said Lee Norberg, a former Oakdale resident who worked for Grumman for more than 30 years before relocating to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

A lifelong aviation enthusiast, Norberg, 75, saw photographs posted online by friends who visited the park and decided to contact the town to advocate for the restoration. Exposure to the elements left the paint faded, cracked and peeling with areas of mold and bird droppings.

“It wasn’t pretty — it’s not representative of museum conditions,” Norberg said in an interview.  

The park was established by the Northrop Grumman Retiree Club in 2000 to pay tribute to employees who built hundreds of fighter jets on Long Island. Riverhead’s engineering department has maintained the site since 2005, mowing the lawns and washing down the planes regularly, according to assistant town engineer Ken Testa.

“[It’s] the best we can do with our level of expertise here. We’re really roads and bridges guys, not aircraft maintenance,” he said. "The paint has really started to chip and peel away, so we decided it was time to take the next step, which is a complete exterior refurbishment."

The town contracted with EEC Static Display Aircraft Painting Service, a Pennsylvania-based firm that specializes in restoring military aircraft. Work is expected to begin in September and take four to five weeks, Testa said.

Town officials voted 5-0 on Aug. 1 to authorize the project. It will be funded by a $1.5 million community benefit payment from L.I. Solar Generation LLC, the developers of a nearly 200-acre solar array on Edwards Avenue in Calverton.

Supervisor Yvette Aguiar said the planes are a “huge draw” for residents and visitors alike.

“We look forward to seeing them shining brightly with a fresh coat of paint for all to enjoy,” Aguiar said. Though the town doesn't keep an official visitor count, Testa estimates that the park receives between 2,500 and 3,000 visitors each year.

The decommissioned planes are on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum, headquartered in Pensacola, Florida.

Riverhead is responsible for regular upkeep of the display planes, which can be reclaimed if they aren’t maintained, according to Lenore Taylor, administrative officer at the museum.

“The better they look, the more pride people have in the military,” she said. “We always want to promote pride, and a sense of honor in naval and aviation history.”

Norberg is glad the town will pursue the project. “They are representative of what Grumman did on Long Island,” he said.

Grumman once employed more than 23,000 Long Islanders before shuttering its manufacturing facilities on the Island in 1994. Earlier this year, an F-14 on display at the former Grumman Corp. offices in Bethpage was moved to the Cradle of Aviation museum after the land was sold to become a warehouse.

The resolution approved Aug. 1 also allocates nearly $500,000 for several other projects using the solar payment, including a new walking trail and basketball court at Stotzky Park, a new swing set at Wading River beach and restroom installation at Veterans Memorial Park in Calverton.