F-104 Starfighter FULL AFTERBURNER Howl TAKE OFF 

My dad was a "Zipper" IP in the 60's (Luke AFB). He absolutely loved that a/c. INSANELY fast. Crazy acceleration. He even loved the "banking with intent to turn" label. His two favorite birds were the F-86 & F-104. He said flying the 86 was pure poetry. The 104? He said he the 104 demanded your attention 120% of the time. Sadly dad passed away in '21. I proudly display his battered flight helmet, rattyy flight suit and his chromed spurs.

I was on an airshow in Ramstein in the 80's and there was a Starfighter group from Italy. We stood pretty near the runway and could "feel" the jets while full afterburner take off. I still remember the scene while the four planes where rushing by on the runway. A fantastic experience.

It's bizarre but the F-104 still looks futuristic. Like drawn by a 10 year old. Fantastic looking monster

I was a Marine F-4B pilot working at Dyess AFB on metal portable runways and after making a few arrested landings, I and my RIO went for a spin in the area. I spotted an F-104 minding his own business and decided to see if we could get it on. After a few close flybys, I got his attention and the fight was on! I realized right away that I had to keep him in a horizontal fight since I could not stay with him vertically. Also, head-on he was nonexistent! Our radar would not pick him up until he was within gun range. But the old F-4 was a brute and we got him after one of his zooms to altitude since we could fly slower and turn better than he. It was a real experience fighting a different plane than we normally practiced against. After this fun time, we had a hydraulic failure and had to make an emergency an arrested landing. I was used to arrested landings but the Air Force wasn't. They made me wait as long as I could with remaining fuel which was kind of weird. It turned out that the base commander got the film crew to set up to film our landing as well as having all of the top officers wives watching atop a big mobile control van.

To put some perspective on this aircraft, the F-104’s first flight was Mar 4 1954, ten years after WW2 and 52 years after the Wright brothers first flight at Kitty-hawk. For me it is even harder to fathom, my grandfather was born in 1889. When he was born the US and European Railroads were still relatively young technology and my grandparents literally went from a world with NO CARS, NO Planes, and most people either walked or utilized animals for transportation. When my grandparents passed away in their 90’s, the Space Shuttle had launched and computers were becoming “personal”. I’m 57, a retired airline pilot. When I was in the US Navy, Spain, Germany, Italy and US still had a few flying at NASA. When I first began flying for an airline many of our captains had time in the F-104. They loved flying the aircraft.

My grandparents lived not far from Kleine Brogel (Belgium air base). As a child and adult I saw them fly over from 64 to 81... and then the sound... the F104 forever in my heart... Thank you very much for this video to share !

De oude J 79 van GE doet het nog goed.Wat een mooie kist.Well done Kelly en bedankt voor de video Frans !

The sound of the F-104 is a glorious one! That howl gives me goosebumps!

A few days ago, I saw an F-104 at a museum in Idaho. It looked to be in good shape, but was stored outdoors and needs to be moved inside soon, in my opinion.

lol that rattling sound during the recording is the camera operators fillings shaking in their head from the loudness!

I lived at CFB Cold Lake during the Starfighter era. These were the airplanes in my sky when I was a child. I saw one at an air show do a "zoom", a near vertical climb out of sight but audible well past invisibilty. It was loud and proud! Such a pure expression of speed and intent!

I remember the Dutch Royal Airforce flying these jets back in the seventies. They flew them quite low and they made a great howling sound when they flew over.

The Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force) was one of the largest users and was surely the longest user of the F104, retiring the F104 ASA (ASA = Weapon System Update) in 2004. The “Spillone” (big needle) served as, interceptor, ground attack 🤦 and reconnaissance, with a total of 360 of all models. In this latter role the A.M. F104 supported operation Desert Storm. Strangely enough, it’s extremely rare to see any A.M. F104 on video.🤷🏻‍♂️ The Spillone was infamous also with the Italians for his bad tendencies, but somehow they managed to make it work, saving a lot of money and jumping many generations of jets till the F35.🤩

I was stationed on a German and Canadian AFB in Germany that were using the F-104s at the time. Loved the sound of these wonderful aircraft.

One of the highlights of the Biggin Hill airshows in the 1970's used to be the displays carried out by a team of four Starfighters...the displays were awesome and the noise of those four aircraft was just something else!....

When I was very small, we lived in a house about 1/4 mi. off the N/S runway of S. Weymouth Naval Air Station in Massachusetts. When scrambling to meet a Bear coming down off the Arctic Run (that ventured into US claimed territory) they'd be supersonic OVER the house. We heard that howl all the time in the early 50's and 60's.

Afterburner and it still took that much runway to get in the air! Still remember the model I built back when I was a kid - 1960s.

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter (aka "The Missile With A Man In It")/ One of My Favorite Cold War-era Aircraft. Colonel Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager, famous for breaking the sound barrier 15 years earlier, was selected to set a new altitude record of 120,000 feet, with a modified Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Colonel Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager reached a peak altitude of approximately 108,000 feet (32,918 meters), nearly two miles (3.2 kilometers) lower than the record altitude set by Major Robert W. Smith just four days earlier.

Lived in Niagara Falls in base housing. Dad maitained long range radar at lockport AFB. No runway. The Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station base next to Niagara Falls airport had these as intercepters. There was also F101 Voodoo. These 104;s were fast and loud. Loved it!

Lived in West Germany 79-83 in Baden on the Base. Loved the 104's!!!

I grew up in Lahr, W. Germany from 1967 - 72 and saw and heard these gorgeous planes every day. The scream.........

Ik ben ooit (1977) op excursie op de Vlb.Lwd geweest terwijl ik nog op de K.K.S.L. zat. We mochten langs de rolbaan kijken hoe 2 104's naar de startbaan taxieden. Uiteraard, toen we in de kont daarvan keken, zetten de heren vliegers hun 104's (voor de lol) hun kisten in AB. De vouw werd ons uit de broek geblazen. 😂 Dank je wel voor het delen.

I fell in love with the Starfighter in the early 80's when we had one on static display outside our USAF basic training dorm. (02!) Didn't get to see one fly until stationed in Turkey years later. Was all the more impressed!

Old school. Widow-maker. Nice to see. What Major Nelson was always shown to fly in I Dream of Jeannie. 😄

Gilze-Rijen AFB in the 70's after school... Never forget the noise and the smell! Still goosebumps!

What a beautiful sound. The RCAF had 200 of these in service up until the 1980s. Also known as The Widow Maker. A beauty. I still prefer the F4 Phantom from this era.

Dad loved watching the F-104 take off in Switzerland or Italy many decades ago. ❤

An engine with wings is how I always saw these planes...they were common when I was stationed in Germany, sheer speed...

Turkey was still flying them when I was stationed there from 91-93. They were trying to get F-16’s for replacements….If you want to hear something really loud and earth shaking checkout an F-111 on full afterburner takeoff! Especially at night-at least a 20ft flame!! Cheers

I used to live near Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. They would often take off to the west, make a left turn and head out over the ocean. The flight path took them directly over our house. Awesome. There is something about the older jet fighters that makes them memorable. The other plane I remember seeing there quite often was the U-2. One of them flew directly over me as I was driving south on A1A one day. The high pitched whine definitely got my attention.

Because Sir, I am in love with this aircraft. This magnificent engine of steel and gleam. This aerodynamic Delilah. Its uptilted wings and sidewinder rockets. Its clear curving cockpit cover, the whirling of dials and needles...

Last time I saw the F-104 flying was back in 1999 at Decimomannu, Sardinia, Italy. At the same time I saw Eurofighters practicing for the Le Bourget Air Show. Quite interesting to see the "past" and the "future" at around the same time. PS: I was maintaining and repairing German PA200 Tornado aircraft those days.

Performance wise, no match for today’s aircraft but far more beautiful in my opinion. Pencil thin, sleek and that marvellous howl sends a nostalgic shiver up my spine every time.

I was USAF stationed at Norvenich AB, W. Germany (a German Air Base - not USAF base in Germany). US weapons on German F104’s. Between Bonn and Koln in 1975-1978. Best assignment ever! Jagdbombergeschwader 31 (Fighter-Bomber Wing 31; abbreviated as: JaBoG 31 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taktisches_Luftwaffengeschwader_31

I had no idea that these were still flying wow

Had 2 F104's take off while a group of us erks were digging out a German F4 that had gone off the end of the runway by a couple of hundred feet, he was in up to his axles. Of course it was tipping down with rain all day so we were soaked through, F104's lined up and went into reheat as they do and showered us in hot water til they went brakes off and disappeared down the runway. RAF St Mawgan circa 1979 Happy times as a J/T on Nimrod Line Flight.

Damn that howl is intense! I understand now why some named this aircraft the 'Widowmaker', no wonder it was so hard to fly...It sounds like wild beast.

The American Lockheed has secretly developing a supersonic fighter plane, the F-104G Starfighter. With this jet, speed is more important than maneuverability. In 1954, the F-104G Starfighter made its first flight and subsequently set several altitude and speed records. But it also has the dubious distinction of being the most unsafe fighter jet.

the howling of this engine ... so awesome

I loved it when the German pilots flew into RAF Alconbury in their F 104's I would meet them in the ramp patrol truck and get to check out the planes what an awesome jet wow that was almost 40 years ago seems like yesterday

Big engine in smallest body…it’s a HOTROD. And good looking to go with, my favorite jet plane.

I believe the F-104 was retired before I was even born, but I always loved the design. It is a beautiful jet!

Such a beautiful airplane.

When I was at RAF Upper Heyford, we would stop work when the Germán's were taking off in their F-104s, no sooner off the ground, wheels up and a looping of the runway, seeming to have an ongoing competition as to see how close to the runway they could get and then depart for home....Scary at times....

Imagine the shock and terror if an A-10 could emit that noise a few second before a gun run. Hearing that, virtually a instant before the 30mm shells hit... Yeah that would create a bit of a mess blood and poop everywhere. I grew up at George AFB home of the F-104 and the F-4 Weasels. Both of those jets were an earful and we lived 6 miles from the base. Oddly though the strangest noise was the first time I heard a C-5 flyover our house. Once you hear that lawnmower sound you recognize instantly from then on.

Got to see them at Chatham NB back in the sixties. Was working for a contractor who had a contract working at the base. Cool planes.

Ahhhh the famous manned rocket. That howl.

Gen. Chuck Yeager took this bird to astonishing altitudes

I can't believe that the F 104 was still flying after it earned its' nickname "widowmaker" in the late 70's or early 80's.

Captain Lockheed and the starfighters by robert calvert. The best way to learn about the history of the F104 G.

I was at RAF Gutersloh, the F104 was a regular visitor to us

Thank you Frans and succes !

I saw the last public airshow with the German Air Force flying F-104's. It was probably 30 years ago. Never heard anything that loud ever.. what a machine!!

My father was in school in Pakistan when he got the chance to witness F-104 Takeoff and flyby at one of the Independence day celebrations in the mid 1960s. Pakistan probable the only country outside of NATO to fly F104. To this day he maintains, that back in the 60s if got to witness the rocket needle take off on full afterburners, there is very little that will impress you after that.

In 1979 - 1980 op de basis Leeuwarden een deel van mijn diensttijd door gebracht. Vaak als onderdeel van de MD aan de baan gestaan. Herinneringen komen weer boven. 😃

This was the plane at my barracks during my basic training. Leading edges of the wings were sharp.

The kriegsmarine 4 ship display team was really something. Turning circle the size of a small country,but NOISY!

Like that groan a C-5A makes when taking off. There's nothing else that sounds like it!

very familiar audio! I used to work st an airport that had Starfighters, Civilian Acrobatic group, who at the time were based out of St Pete/Clearwater. Amazing planes with a unique soundtrack, whether taxiing or flying...

if it looks beautiful, it will fly beautiful. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson.

Thanks for sharing!

Wow !!! That was awesome - thanks for sharing.

Strange sound. Thanks for the post!

EPIC!!!

Who need wings to fly?

In the late 70's I was stationed in Germany the Luftwaffe still flew F104's. They would make low flying passes on our tanks during reforger and we could clearly see the pilots faces. It was just to cool! F4's would make runs on us as well but never got as low as the Germans.

I had an F/O that flew these in Speed Trials on The Lake. He said you had to be on top of it every millisecond. And slowing down was just as hard.

One-hundred and Sixteen German pilots lost their lives in these planes, not one of them in combat. They fell out of the sky like hailstones.

It sounds like my Kerosene/Diesel heater working its way up to "high" on a cold morning!

I’ve never seen one. What a beautiful machine. ❤

Still sexy as hell. Put an updated fire control system in them, put them back in service and watch them outrun the F-22's and F-35's!

J79, baby! And an F-4 has TWO of them!

The Missle with a Man in it.

I can remember when one of these intercepted the USS Enterprise and totally shocked Capt Kirk.

Used to love these and the Lighting back in the day.

Childhood comes back. My parents lived back in the 1960 in Schleswig, Northern Germany, close to the Navy-Airbase Jagel (today Luftwaffe base Schleswig). I used to ride by bicycle to the back fence, north side, where I had a good overview over the runways. Impressive, especially in dusk with the afterburner-flames.

The F104 got the nickname widoaker because of pilot error. I worked with men that flew it and they stated as long as you gave it 100+% of your attention it was as safe as any other plane. You just had to fly it all the time. PS. The F104 was the first airplane to go mach 1 straight up and here were I live they tested it and air traffic controllers that worked it said they say it return from test flights with the paint burned off.

Old school, so cool.

Sleek and chic 👍✈️

For some reason that F-104 in that color reminds me of the Little Johnny Jet cartoon (look it up).

Roger Ramjet - awesome!

Ahhhh... I love me a J79. A howling, black smoke belching, flame spewing Brute of a powerplant. And typically found in machines equally Brutal and unrefined. Sure, modern afterburning turbofans can be more powerful, and far more efficient. But nothing says "fuck around and find out" like J79.

We had them flying over our school several times a day in the 60s. The noise level was so high it was impossible to hear anything else inside the building.

Awesome video! Light up the afterburners!!

NICE! Love the howl of that GE powerplant!!

It was the Corvair of fighter aviation. Dangerous as hell but a lot of fun.

GOOSEBUMPS!!!

Nice to see these old fighter jets continue to fly.

It should have been called the Banshee with that howl.

You could here them daily in Germany from the 1960‘s to 1980‘s. The sound stood out from all other aircraft. 104 was unique.

How rude of that rusty old jet to interrupt the lovely clanging going on in the background. Such is life...

The back seat of an F-104 is the last place I would want to be and I worked on the flight deck in the late 80's.

Not used to seeing a 2-seat F-104. What country was this plane from?

Beauty!

The Widowmaker 😢

Watch genius included a bell ringing.

A flight of steel eagles tearing by The ripped silk scream of the rended sky, Flame on through sound and make time fly, What a good way to go What a good way to go, In the Aerospace age inferno.

Always amazed how those little wings provide sufficient lift.

Sick-o sound!!! WOW!!! F-104's forever!

That was so awesome. We don't see aircraft anything like this near where I live in BC, Canada. Most around here are civilian aircraft Thank you for sharing.