Picture is quite big so I didnt want to put it here
3 Seater Tomcat
What is the reason for the 3rd pilot?

Third seat for FUN??

Woooohoooo!! Sell rides in that baby for a Fund Raiser!

Seriously, no idea,but a neat pic of a rare bird!

I am guessing that it is some creative work with PhotoShop or similar program, and not actually a real aircraft.

I have worked on Tomcats for 10 years of my Naval career and have never heard nor saw a three seated tomcat. This is just some great photo trickery.

Could it be the USN is getting into the civilian passenger market? :-)

Hmm I should have thought of that. Yeah now I think its probably a fake.

looks fantastic though eh?
i wanna go!!!! pleeeeezzzz :-)

lol haven't seen it before either....could very well be photoshopped.....nice work by the artist though :-)

Two words... embedded journalists!

It's just the new "mother-in-law" seat........ :-) :-) :-) :-)

:-) :-) :-) its the only one without command eject!!!

Its relatively easy to see the photoshop in it if you look hard enough. Look at the window glare on the second seat. Unlike the first seat and the third seat (which is straighter), the second seat's reflection is traced in a curve. The curve is caused by the downward slope of the canopy. But in the picture, the canopy isn't sloping down; it starts too in the third seat.

I sat looking for a couple of minutes for any error. At first, I looked at the pilots. Though each look very much the same, each is slightly different. I then thought I had it when I thought the second seater didn't have a name on the side. But his is just lighter than the rest. This photo is very convincing.

Jeff

Fake out!
Consider that the Tomcat's canopy hinges at the back and it would have to get that thing to almost a full 90 degrees to the the last guy in. Note that the hinge mechanism is there, so it can't be set to fold over to the side and there's only on hinge mechanism.