Surprise visit from Norway, the only flying CF-104D Starfighter LN-STF in europe, in honor of 75 years 322 SQN of the Royal Netherlands Airforce. The characteristic sound clearly audible! Leeuwarden Airbase, 11-06-2018 #f104 #starfighter
I grew up in the 70s and 80s in the Eifel region in Germany. There were two US airbases with F-104 squadrons in the area and they trained almost daily. The howling and the occasional sonic booms were an integral part of the sound of my youth during the cold war. This video brings back memories...
I'm from Düren and in the 80ies we had sonic booms all day long. Somewhat annoying but we were used to it. The F104 is a beautiful, we could inspect her in numerous low flying military trainings.
Don’t think that’s correct. Germans were flying the F-104 during that time, but not USAFE. I was 3rd Infantry Division 76-79 at Schweinfurt, FRG and the Luftwaffe were flying the Starfighter while USAFE flew F-4 Phantoms.
@@williamwilson6499 You're probably right, I just assumed that the 104s were piloted by USAF because of the airbases around my hometown. Maybe it was combined training between GAF and USAF because I also remember seeing a lot of F4s at that time.
@@JCrashB Whenever we were out on exercises, the Luftwaffe and USAFE jets would periodically do simulated strafing runs on us…sometimes I think they did it just for fun. The F-4 was pretty bad noise wise, but that F-104 was a demon out of hell. They would scream down on us, pull up, and hit those afterburners.
Anyways, in the Bergisches Land in the 70s on a farm, they always came in pairs, low, afraid they would rip the chimney off. Occasional sonic boom , higher up then. Very seldom simulated dog fights, remember one with afterburner going straight up, very impressive.
When i was a boy and was living in east-bavaria in germany more than fifty years ago, nearly every day a 104 flew above our village at a very low altitude. I'll never forget that shrill howling. Till now it causes goosebumps on my skin. Awesome.
Yeah, the same in northern Baden area. The US Air Force trained in the Black Forest valleys. Never forget the shock reaction at the dinner table, when they suddenly screached above our house in low altitude without any warnings. Good to know, that those days are long gone.
Havent heard them since my childhood. I think the last one I witnessed flying was around 1990. In the years before they were flying over our region almost daily.
@@matthiasstock9620 Sounds about right. The Starfighter demo team started and were based out of ST. Pet/Clearwater International in Clearwater Florida,US. The southbound approach goes right over my house so I was serenaded every time they practiced. I don't know what happened to them , I sure miss the 104 howl and insane approach speed.
@@klesmer I'm from northern Germany and we had two military airports with F104 within 25 km range. So there were a lot of them. I also remember knowing a F104 pilot who later died in a crash of his machine.
We test run a lot of J79s. The ones in the Starfighter are usually the J79-11 model, which I call the smoker and the screamer. I recently posted a video of a -11 test. The smoke is proportional to power setting, and the screaming occurs at flight idle and just above. This video of one flying is just great. I loved it. Most of my J79 videos are of the later model, the -19, which doesn't smoke or scream. More powerful, but less exciting!
AgentJayZ Great to hear from our friendly canuck jet engine expert! This looked like the "overheard maneuver" clearance ATC would provide so the fast movers can slow down quickly over the airport by turning. But this rocket with teensy wings lands hella fast. Less fun in landing. As to all other phases of flight... NO OBJECTION, your honor.
As a child I grew up with the impressive and beautiful sound of the F-104 Starfighter. My father was with the Dutch Airforce on airbase Leeuwarden where as a mechanic he was working on this magnificent jet fighter before he changed to the F-16. Hearing this sound, brings back a lot of sweet memories. I even have a picture of myself as a child in the cockpit of an F-104.
I spent 2 months at Soesterberg AB back in 78. We came over while they were changing from F-4’s to F-15’s. Was fortunate to see quite a bit of your country. I had a wonderful time there. Great memories for me. Take care.
Since 1986 I've been living in Amersfoort, just a few kilometers from Soesterberg. I still remember the Americans living and working near and on the base. They left in 1994 and in 2008 the airbase was closed. The entire area has now become a nature reserve.
After seeing this video, it brought back fond memories of Edwards AFB. I used to work there in 1962 on the X-15 project. They used 104's as chase planes for the X-15 flights. I'll never forget the sound of those J-79's... (gave me 'chills' when I saw it)
One of the most beautiful planes built by Lockheed who made a number of beautiful planes from the Connie to the SR 71. Beauty and “easy to fly” not often heard together.
@@komdivmaklenskov1105 The aircraft was designed to be a high speed high alt interceptor, not used for ground attack. As far as landing safely, not sure what you are implying. Just looking at the small and narrow wings and undercarriage makes it look like a tricky aircraft to land.
Thanks for this video, i'm Italian , and the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) used this fantastic plane for 46 year ! My house is near Istrana AB ,and i remember all the summers clinging to the airport net to see this fantastic plane listening to its howl, 51 air wing, now with the eurofighter 2000 typhoon . I hope, like many others here in Italy, that the experimental flight department in Rome will put one in service to remind all the passionate people here of the fantastic plane it was! This is not noise, it is the sound of freedom
Perfect! Great job capturing all that F-104/J79 goodness! No cuts, no music, no talking, just beautiful! I live for the smoke & thunder of old turbojets and low-bypass turbofans and the 104's amazing sound! The short turkey feather variable area nozzle makes thst fantastic howl!
@@Ceusky Its all in the nozzle. The last of the Starfighters, the Italian F-104S had the long feather nozzles and do not howl. Same for the F-4 Phantoms. Except the British Phantoms, all others were powered by the J79, same basic engine of the 104's. The older F-4C's had short feather nozzles and also howled. Later variants got tbe long feathers and lost the howl. Something about the shorter geometry nozzles creates a resonance at certain power settings. AgentJayZ has many J79 test videos with the short & long feather nozzles. The howl is absent on all except the shortys. These are engine stand tests so that also removes the aircraft type, airspeesd, gun ports, all the normal stuff that makes sounds. Even the different J79 engine type is in actually irrelevant. Its all from the short variable area nozzle.
I spent 13 months at a base camp near the end of the runway at Bien Hoa Airbase, Vietnam. I could just hear the sound and tell you if it was a 104, 105, 101 Voo Doo or an F4 Fantom. Some memories just won’t die.
i grew up around this base in the seventies when these planes came into service.....really freaked me out every tuesday and thursdaynight when they flew nightshizzle. Very eery howl at night in the distance, instant bad memories🙂
From 1958 to 1961 I lived at China Lake, CA, and went to Richmond Elementary School on base. For 3 years my classroom windows looked north over the test ranges where Sidewinder missiles were tested and F-104s flew. Nearby sonic booms and distant explosions were routine during classroom hours. It was common for the parents of my classmates to be either scientists at the famous Michelson Lab or test Pilots flying the Starfighter or other cutting edge aircraft. At 8-11 years old, I thought this was normal. But being a Navy brat you eventually realize that nothing is forever ....
Being a Canadian "Air Force Brat" growing up in the 50s and 60s, I remember these (the CF-104 for the RCAF). Descriptions often contained phrases such as "the glide angle of a brick", but pilots claimed to love them anyway, though of course fighter pilots aren't completely sane to start with (that's a compliment, by the way). And OMG, just look at it! It's gorgeous. Full marks on the sight and sound fronts. I also remember building the plastic model kit (by Revell - I think) when I was about 8 or 9 years old . Ah, nostalgia. 😊
One of the best looking and best sounding jets ever made! I used this spesific plane when I was "tug training" in Norway 1984. This was before we were aloud to pull the F-16.
I remember seeing the Belgian Aerobatic team, The Slivers flying the F-104s, at an air display at Prestwick in Scotland in the very early 70's. Their routine was spectacular and very noisey.
Great video! This banshee-like, howling, J-79 engine is music to my ears! I kinda feel a bit nostalgic, thinking that the Starfighter was a no brainer, such a common sight back in the 70s. Now, it's become such a rarity. But it still attracts crowds and fans alike! Long live the F-104!
Ja, yes! I remember the old days at Mittelfranken with a lot of Starfighters, but especially the LFA-7 oder Area-7 at the Hesselberg where we had seen so many of these birds. So sad that the skies are so silent now... ☹️
Ah yes, the sound of lockheed bribes and german pilots dying like flies because they were forced to fly low in a plane designed as a high altitude interceptor. Beautiful
Wrong! That is the sound of hundreds of pilot's widows. Because the European Airforces were in fact test pilots. Those Starfighters were not safe enough to be sold, huh? So the pilots were lab rats. If only they knew... Do you know the first ejection seats were aiming DOWN?! Yeah, it was hundreds of screaming widows, you just heard.
Da kann ich mich auch noch sehr gut daran erinnern wie die in katterbach ca 10 m über unser Hausdach eingeflogen sind! Ich war da so um die 5 Jahre alt!
Back in the seventees we had a hijacking of a train in the north of the country. They train was raided by the marines. But to cover the assault Starfighters we sent in to create shock and awe. They would dive on the train at speed and pull up just overhead engaging full afterburners. I leved near an airbase where the practiced the runs. It was a sunday and flying on sunday was pretty unusual. We heard them make a big noise. Live at about 12 km and was wondering what it was all about. The next day we knew.....it was straight on the news! Future highest Air Force officer was on that raid. The result....the terrorist were captured or killed. At least one of the hostage got killed in the action. At the same time a Kindergarten had been raided by terrorists. No planes here because of location in a regulart suburb. Still the marines did the job!
My father was a mechanic in Turkish Air Force and some times he took me to the base with him. It was the time just before these beautiful birds were retired. There were f-4 Phantoms and F-104 Starfighters located in the base (and some f-5s). I remember that I observe F-104s were landing way more faster than Phantoms. Later I found out it was because the different aero-dynamics. Oh, and the sound.. It was beautifull, and a little bit chilling :)) I am still in love with both Phantoms and Starfighters, they are both stunning, charismatic.. Thanks for the beautifull video..
He did beat the odds, and that was getting into a plane about which one test pilot said, "The Phantom is proof that even a brick will fly with enough power" At least the Phantom had proper wings with good flaps and droops so it could fly with stability at low speed.
Wives of the pilots killed by that Widowmaker would not agree. I mean... on average 1 of every 3 crashed, I would be inclined to call the guy murderer but for sure not a genius.
The Starfighter was without doubt the most deadly fighter jet ever to go into service. But not deadly for the enemy but the pilots who flew it. As iconic as it was, its also was a death trap. There are a few documentaries about it and it entered service in Europe due to Bribes and corruption. The US quickly replaced it.
In Germany there was a running joke on how to acquire a F-104 'buy a plot of land in the area where they practice low flying, then just wait'. And yes, that was in the sixties and seventies, ancient I know...
@@Paul_C Once they adopted specialized training, the accident rate dropped. People forget that a lot of the early jets were like this. They had handling quirks and each model required specialized training. They were not like older aircraft where a pilot could easily transition without significant retraining. I maintain it was an excellent aircraft in its intended role and by the standards of its day, but when you're on the bleeding edge of technology sometimes you get cut if you're not careful.
Many air forces used the F-104., some for decades --Spanish, Italians, Dutch, etc. For some reason Germany had the highest accident rate of them all. Were they mis-using the aircraft or were they inadequately trained?
When I was a kid growing up in Germany, we had Starfighters flying over our village. I remember the howling sounds of the engine and sonic booms scared the living daylights out of me.
When I was stationed at Luke AFB in Arizona in the early 1970's Luke did all the F-104 pilot training for the German Air Force. We used to call it the largest German Air Force base in the world because of the number of German owned 104's kept there. A few miles off the end of the runway was the Sun City (still there) retirement community and they would constantly call the base complaining about the noise when the 104's were active. When Luke was built it was way out in the desert but as Phoenix grew the surrounding area became heavily populated. They probably still complain about the jet noise.
Me too -- late 70's! Luke had so many transient aircraft, it got so one could identify each aircraft by the sound of its engines. The scream of the F-104 was very distinctive.
My Grandparents winter home was in SunCity. I remember visiting them in the mid 80’s and sitting on their back patio and watching the planes work the pattern. I think it was predominantly F16’s but my memory may be failing me. Anyways, my grandfather earned a civil engineering degree from the University of Iowa in the late 30’s. When the war started he joined the Army Air Corps and was assigned to help turn a Packard car factory into a Rolls Royce engine manufacturing facility. After the war he moved back to Iowa and purchased a Piper Apache. Used it to fly it all over the Midwest visiting job sites and Hawkeye football games. Even flew it to the Rose bowl once. When he was looking for a place to winter he had 3 criteria. Warm weather, Golf, and an Air Force base. He used to finish every evening with a scotch and jet noise. I know he was never the one to call Luke and complain about the noise. He loved all of it.
I was sationed at Luke 1963 thru 1964 and the 104's were there then.. Only thing better than the sound of the engine was the sound the gattling gun made when plane was on the harmo range.
I worked in the area of Luke, and was on a roof ,off base, not sure it was a 104 but think it was,on take off, something went wrong two pilots ejected One of which the chute did not open in time, one did….the plane continued on !crashing and plowing up a field for a half mile or longer….I saw the whole thing, as the roof was over a school gym, just off base. Those 104’s were great to watch, and hear. A friend of mine flew them in Nam. Thanks
Awesome indeed. A real flying blowtorch attached to a whistle. I lived a 5 km from a military airfield as a teenager during the cold war (those seventies!). And they were flying a lot almost every day, the landing circuit was above the house hard to forget the noise!! I remember taking my bicycle to the direct proximity of the airstrip. You should hear them at takeoff, literally shaking ones guts. Fortunately they were never called into real action. I wanted to become a pilot myself....
Sounds that take me back to Bitburg AFB 1968-1971 ... The green grass, the birds and the sound of the F-104 ...Germany before mass immigration. Wish I could travel back in time
Lol, and if you wanted to own an F-104 in Germany, all you had to do was buy a plot of land... i was told a couple of years ago. Back then there were many falling from the skies it seems.
@@followyourbliss101 Because it was a fighter designed as a high-altitude interceptor, being used as an all weather ground attacker, a role for which it was absolutely unsuited to
@@followyourbliss101 - From what I've read the FRG would regularly train their F-104 pilots to fly near treetop level for low-level bombing practice. Part of their air war doctrine during the Cold War, for fast penetration of enemy defenses underneath radar. While it was capable of the high-speed part, the '104 wasn't well suited to such a low-level role. It was easier to suffer from mistakes or technical faults while down in the weeds that low, with it's higher stall speed & such.
I love old aircraft as well, but it was a real shock when the birds I worked on started turning into drones and museum pieces. I guess getting old sure beats the alternative, 😁
For those who may be wondering what causes the typical "Howl"............ It is actually the simple event of two differing airflows coming together and causing a whistle! The engine is surrounded with bypass air, some of which is coming from the engine air bypass flaps, and some is coming from generator access doors and aft fuselage suck-in panels. This bypass air is mixed with heated air coming from within the engine, which has been heated due to it having passed through the compressor and hot section. The result is a mixture of heated air, that which has passed through the engine, and cooler air, that which has passed around the engine, all of which is forced to be mixed when it encounters the convergent/divergent exhaust nozzle system. What we have is two airflows, one heated and faster from the engine, mixed with a slower and cooler airflow, from around the engine, forced out through the exhaust. The result is a whistle. Some call it a howl.
I worked on these in 1969 at Homestead AFB 319Th fis. the last operational f104 squadron in the AF. these were -19 engines which gave them superior performance to the f4s though these were A and B models. We lost one on a Sunday, a pilot was doing touch and go's, it stalled and pitched up and rolled, the pilot ejected into the ground killing him. I had heard he was a c124 pilot before. Years later at a reunion of the squadron at San Antonio around 2006 I had the opportunity to talk to the pilots that were there then. (I had since acquired my flight instructor licenses) I asked about the accident, I was told at the time that the accident was caused by a broken bolt that let one of the flaps retract. The pilots informed me that there was a cable connecting the flaps that prevented that from happening. The reason was that the pilot pulled the power back too far and the and he lost boundary layer air for the flaps which came from the 18th or 19th stage compressor, which kept airflow attached to the surface of the flap. Had a great time talking to the pilots there. Sadly the last hurrah of the squadron is held this year due lo too few people left to attend. Great memories
There is a company called "Starfighters" that flies three CF-104's (former RCAF F-104's) out of Clearwater Florida. They used to do quite a bit of airshow in the US, but have gone more private contract for use as enemy simulation and high performance chase aircraft.
I fell in love with the Starfighter as a child - "Starfighter"..."STARFIGHTER"! come on!! - now I know it sounds like this...well...the love affair continues.
ThePereubu1710 I, too, fell for the Starfighter early on My first model airplane kit was an F-104, looked like a rocket with stubby wings & an oversized tail, heard it was a handful to actually fly but certainly looked the part!
I grew up near Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia, U.S., and as an adult moved out of the city to a rural area. One of the things I miss the most is the jet noise. Some people complained, I loved it. My house was close to the Final Approach and I could see the speed brake rising on the F15's as they descended. The F15's stationed there were replaced by F22 Raptors in recent years. Jets are way cool.
And two days after, I'm here again just to conclude that your video is the most impressive on RU-vid, regarding Lockheed F-104! The sound of your recording is just amazing!!!
WOW!!! How I miss that eerie howl. I loved these in the 80’s. I was stood at crash gate 3 at RAF Binbrook one day in thick fog. You couldn’t see a thing, then out of the blue this eerie howl appeared and two Starfighters came through the fog and landed. I will always remember that.
these used to fly over my house daily when I was a kid, 20 miles from the East German border. Constantly broke the sound barrier, too, shaking windows and house. We got used to it. Have not heard that sound in a long time. It came usually with a blend of Bell UH-1D chop chop at low altitude as a support concert, also loud as heck.
@marsal pole Clearly you are wrong at every level and have zero understanding of military aircraft. The F104 is a brilliant high performance, brilliantly designed very capable warplane in the hands of competent pilots, including the great Chuck Yeager.
@@airgliderz Actually the Germans called it the Erdnagel, "tent peg". Not just sharp, not just nose down in the dirt, but literally hammered in place! The cheapest way to get a Starfighter, they said in Germany, was to buy some property... and wait...
If I recall, the F104 needs to keep about 70% power in landing configuration, full flaps + gear down, to overcome the drag and keep up it's speed. Could be wrong, been a lot of years since I heard that.
avi8r66 Plausible at the very least. Teensy wings with objectionable stall characteristics... yeah, just keep the wings flying with plenty of airspeed and you can't go rong.
@@yowser8780 Decided to be a little less lazy in 2021, so looked it up. We are both pretty much right. From the wikipedia article on the plane: "Landings were also performed at high speed: the downwind leg of the circuit was typically flown at approximately 210 knots (390 km/h; 240 mph) with flaps in landing configuration, with the long, flat final approach flown at around 175 knots (324 km/h; 201 mph) and touchdown at 155 to 160 knots (287 to 296 km/h; 178 to 184 mph). Extra fuel, crosswinds or gusts, external stores, and other considerations could add up to 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) to these speeds. Unlike most aircraft, the F-104 was landed with the engine at high power, as the boundary layer control system lost effectiveness below approximately 82 percent engine rpm. Pilots were instructed not to cut the throttle while the plane was still airborne, as doing so would cause an abrupt (and generally uneven) loss of lift. " This plane was one of several mission specific designs. He was asked for an interceptor that could carry a high speed gun, the vulcan, to an incoming flight of russian bombers and tear them up before they could get close enough to the US to deliver their ordnance. From first notice to danger time was not a long period of time so the planes needed to be crewed and airborne, and at altitude and speed, fast. So, Kelly built exactly that. Essentially this is a less suicidal version of the German Komet. Other mission specific designs would be the U2 and SR71, both of which require special handling and support to operate, and they are launched and recovered in special manners to accommodate their unique mission profiles. His P38 design was much more 'normal', resilient, and very capable, but then the air force tapped him for specialized designs and he delivered exactly what was requested.
I am and can explain. It's all about power. As an old pilot told me, you can make a barn door fly if you have a big enough engine. What amazes me is that this early '50s design can reach (unofficially) 1800 MPH.
