Snodgrass had performed in over 850 airshows over the course of 20 years. Snodgrass retired from the Navy in June 1999 after 26 years. Snodgrass in his Korean War-era F-86 Sabre, 2004 He was the first Tomcat pilot to complete carrier qualifications, both night and day, without any fleet experience. In the Navy, Snodgrass was considered the 'highest time Tomcat pilot,' logging more than 8,000 hours of flight time including more than 4,800 hours in the F-14 and more than 1,200 arrested carrier landings, both more than any other pilot. In September 1994, he became commander of all US Navy F-14 Tomcats for Fighter Wing, U.S. Leading 34 missions as overall strike or fighter lead in 12 operational fighter squadron and fighter wing tours, he was awarded honors including a Bronze Star for leadership and valor.

ĭuring Operation Desert Storm, Snodgrass was the commanding officer of Fighter Squadron 33.

Snodgrass' F-14 wings are vertical, and appears to be very close to the ship and the crew members seen in the foreground. A photo of the pass was captured, taken by a Naval photographer, and it is considered one of the most famous aviation photos of all time. During the summer of 1988, Snodgrass performed a low-level 'banana pass' or a knife-edge pass during an air show for a Dependent's Day Cruise for the families of carrier personnel aboard the USS America aircraft carrier. Snodgrass was famous for his low-level flybys. Snodgrass' famous 'banana pass' over the USS America in 1988 As the best F-14 pilot in 1986, Grumman Aerospace awarded Snodgrass 'Topcat of the Year.' He later became a demonstration pilot, a role he kept for 10 years. In 1985, the US Navy selected Snodgrass as 'Fighter Pilot of the Year.' The following year, Snodgrass reportedly did a little bit of the flying in the film Top Gun. In 1978 he attended the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, commonly known as 'TOPGUN', the Navy Fighter Weapons School. Snodgrass' callsign in the Navy was 'Snort'. He was the first student selected to begin flying the F-14 Tomcat right out of flight school.

Snodgrass graduated first in his flight school in 1974. Snodgrass graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biology in 1972. Īfter high school, Snodgrass attended the University of Minnesota on a Navy ROTC scholarship and was also an All-American swimmer. Snodgrass grew up in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York with his three sisters. His father had been a World War II Marine aviator flying F4U Corsairs in the Pacific and later became a Grumman engineering test pilot. Snodgrass was born in Long Island, New York, to Reuben and Virginia Snodgrass.

Snort snodgrass