My mouse cursor was hovering over the "X" in the top right, just in case I opened one more aviation video with "Danger Zone" blasting. This is pure joy!
I was a pilot in the RAF during the Cold War. In the early 1980s I went on my first squadron exchange to a base in Munich that no longer exists. But the boss of the squadron used an F104 wing as his desk - it wasn’t a big room but the wing fitted fine! We used to say the F104 didn’t have wings, just stabilisers!
While in the USAF in 1969, I watched three F-104s do near vertical takeoffs while working on an aircraft on the flightline. It was incredible ! I was an F-4C crew chief and flew once in my aircraft. It was great, but the F-104 would have been the ultimate, it's pure speed :) Saw a lot of German F-104s but nothing beats the polished aluminum look. Such a beautiful aircraft
Back in 1977 I used to work for a company known as Northwest Industries a division of CAE as a wiring harness assembler for the F104 Starfighters going to Baden Baden Germany. The start of my aviation career.
A ride of a lifetime and an experienced dwindling to the point of Extinction! What a privilege the f-104 Starfighter has and always will be very dear and near to my heart
I grew up in the 60s and love the Century Series....but the F-104 has always been my favorite. I saw three of them do near vertical climbs while stationed at Perrin AFB, TX in 1969. Three of us T-37 crew chiefs waved to the F-104 pilots as they taxied past the end of the flightline. We all pointed up and saw them laugh. And they did it.....and it was amazing. Love the F-104 ! :)
Around 2000, I was the inspector with a pair of mechanics from San Antonio, and we were sent to Clearwater Beach airport to patch up an old Swearingen Merlin IIIB for a ferry flight back to San Antonio for repair. It had hit a buzzard departing from Sarasota, damaging the left wing leading edge. They shared a hangar with y'all! I remember three 104s- two were flying, the third was in reserve, and had been flown by the Crown Prince of Jordan during his career in the Jordanian Air Force. I remember your mechanic telling us that it was a two-seater because the Prince was not allowed to fly solo, due to his royal status. Y'all came to the Randolph AFB Airshow at San Antonio later that year, so I got to see everybody again and see the birds fly. That was really cool. I wish y'all still did airshows. It would be great to see them fly some more!
V.A.M. a Cameri nel 1978/79. Vedere decollare quelli del 53° Stormo del Comandante Mainini, specialmente di sera e da pochi metri, é un qualcosa che non si puó spiegare con parole.
Ahhh the hum in the cockpit of ten thousand systems all surging and pumping and flowing to make your spaceship work properly and then the demonic growl of the massive engine as she gets the input to eat the sky - beautiful.
Thank you so much for sharing this video, great stuff! Greetings from Germany, despite everything that has happened in the past we absolute loved our Starfighter fleet and surely love to see them flying even today 🙂
@@rael5469 I believe the problem Luftwaffe had was in lack of training and emergency procedures, as this is a very unforgiving aircraft in poorly trained hands. Eventually its safety record improved; the Italians also flew these into the 90's. Please comment if I am incorrect or you can add to the discussion.
@@amramjose I don't really know any details about it. That's just my general knowledge of it. I just thought I heard that it had a bad safety record. But I mean really.....what does it land at? ....150 knots or more? That's a recipe for trouble.
Hah I remember sitting on a parade ground ( my pops was the RSM) Germany and watching two big covered trucks come to the middle for a demonstration. It was two 104’s with rocket boosters take off for a NATO demonstration for Prince Phillip in 63 or 64. Insane sound levels…shortly followed by a small tussle afterwards when someone asked a Scot what they had on under their kilt….
The last time i saw one operational was @ the Wings over Houston Airshow, ‘88/‘89, Ellington Field, in a hangar. Inquired and was told it belonged to a civilian/private owner. It flew a demo the next day as we were on our static display. Gorgeous & stunning a/c, its design bore the later SR71. They were still operational in the German AF into the ‘90’s and gradually replaced by the Tornado. To this day, one of my personal favorites, I admire the one still on static display @ Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Tx.😊
We did a low pass at this runway in our Mooney at half the F104's landing speed. It was at the peak of COVID19. My and I were bored, so I said "Let's just go do a low pass at the Shuttle's runway". We called Orlando Approach via phone to verify R-airspace was cold. Got the usual instructions "Do NOT touch the runway and stay west of the center-line." My wife (non-pilot) asked "What happens if we touch the runway?", the controller replied jokingly "You'll get a bunch of guys behind you to throw you in jail."
Chuck also provided valuable data during that flight, that once you go into a stall in the 104, you can never recover it. Just punch out. - On another note, there was no belly landing the 104 with main gear deployment failure or partial gear deployment failure. You flew to the middle of nowhere and punched out.
@@RacerXGTOYeah the engine stalled out on it and there were no hydraulics to operate the flight surfaces, he tried to get it under control with the landing chute and stuff to try and get the engine going again but it just dropped like a rock.
The dutch airforce used the f104 to make low flight passes over a commercial train that was being hijacked in 1977 by molukkan freedomfighters, in order to get them disoriented
What a beautiful bird and a perfect greaser landing by the pilot. I'll always remember reading (Check Yeager biography - a must read book by thje way) about Gen Chuck Yeager's flight in the NF-104A which ended in a loss of control and a crash on December 10 1963 at Edwards AFB. Thank you for sharing the experience free of narration & music.
Wow, great, what.. a... RUSH! VAB and launch complexes in background... beautiful! Please ask Piercarlo to make more 104 videos, love what he's posted so far! Great video, nice editing.
Wow I had a privilegie to work with theese beasts, in the far 1986 at 5° Squadron - Rimini - Italy and last summer i saw the " Black Beauty" to fly at Pratica di Mare for the 100 years of the ITALIAN AIR FORCE - AERONAUTICA MILITARE ITALIANA- I cryed.....
YOU LUCKY.........! That wonderful howl! despite its accident record, I was an acquaintance of Lt Gen Gunther Rall of tthe Luftwaffe. He loved it. Well done.
Still amazed the F-104 can even fly. Its like a 12yr old on Kerbal Space Program removed the wings and then moved the canards rearward to see what would happen.
Absolutely love the F-104 Starfighter. It is basically a missile with wings. What I would give to sit in the backseat of one of those. Maybe they'll come to Houston in October for Wings Over Houston Air show and sell rides 😁
The Widow Maker. Look up the British album from the 70's 'Captain Lockheed And The Starfighters'. We had two squadrons of Starfighters at RAF Binbrook in '77. When they Beat Up the Airfield on arrival, I had one go over me at about 40 feet . That was the first plane in. Came out of nowhere. I jumped out of my skin, but the shows were great 😂
I wish I could get a ride? Cost must be pretty high? I'm a retired airline pilot and flew with many Air Force Pilots who had flown thr F-104, F-105, F-100, F-4, F-102 etc. The men who flew the F-104 loved to fly it but were thrilled to transition into F-4’s.
Wow. I really had my doubts about the stability of that manned missile. What an iconic flight! BTW, the correct name for the forward flaps is "slats". Thanks for sharing this wonderful video!
I only refer to them as leading edge flaps because that is how they are labeled in the airplane as well as in the MM. Other aircraft I have worked on like the F86 and the TA4J referred to them as slats although the mechanism was entirely different. Will certainly look into it now that you mention it. Glad you enjoyed the video!
slats are different. They typically embed into the leading edge and extend outward, not just changing the angle of attack of the leading edge. The F-14 had slats as to most airliners.
F-104 has an air ducting arrangement using hot engine bleed air vented over the rear flaps to make them more effective at lower airspeed. It was a system also applied to another J-79 powered fighter, the F-4 Phantom. Early "hardwing" Phantoms like B,C,D,N, RF-4 and early E except it had the system flow over the wings from forward flaps when they were deployed. After Vietnam they changed to a fully slatted arrangement such as the late E,G, and S. No more blowing hot air.
The F-104, the F-16, F-18, "hard wing F-4s, Boeing 747 (inboard wing section), F-35, F-22 and dozens of other airplanes have LEADING EDGE FLAPS and NOT SLATS! Slats are always slotted and "pop out". There are even slotted leading edge flaps for more confusion 😅
That was amazing. I didn't have any idea that there were still 104's airworthy besides maybe NASA. What a once in a lifetime experience to be able to fly in that backseat!
The A and B models ejected downward. The procedure at low altitude was to roll inverted and then punch out. Yeah, right, like there's nothing else going on.
Grew up on an air base 1955 to 1967 in Canada during the cold war 104s day and night was able to sit around the end of the run way and watch take offs also got to go in hangers also right up to the flight line cold lake forever
This Tf104g comes from Italy where i live, his base was 30 km from my home, i surely have seen it flying many many many times. Very impressive 20 years after her phasing out
What is the heritage of this dual? I recall that some RCAF aircraft (including one from AETE that I had a ride or two in my flight test days). Great video wonderful aircraft first flew in 1954 I believe.
Bluejay 4, you should be close enough for visual contact. I can see it now. Whatever this is, it's big. Two cylindrical projections on top, one below. Purpose--undetermined.
At 3:19 there is a Space Shuttle off to the right side of the runway-WHAT is THIS???? I thought that the only 3 orbiters plus the Enterprise were all in museums. Is that some mock-up?
Missile with a man in it. Or "men" in this case. :) TF-104, right? Think there were only 2 built? I may be mistaken. I may have it confused with the A-10B that only two were built. Anyone know the history of this particular airframe?
