Sadly, I just found out that my dad, Lt. Col. Ed Gund, USAF (Ret'd) passed away on 01 Jan 2021. Dad was in the initial cadre of F-104 IP's at Luke AFB, AZ in the mid 60's. He spent 5 years instructing German pilots. He said he didn't know which was more dangerous-the students or the planes. Dad loved flying the 104. Along with the F-86, the 104 was his favorites. I imagine the "Pearly Gates" got a rude awakening when an ephemeral Starfighter blew past them at mach 2.2. Clear skies and a nice tailwind dad.
Showed this to my dad-he's a 90 yr. young retired 104 IP. You should've seen his eyes take in every detail. He pointed out the altimeter winding up. Still has amazingly good eyesight.
@@xenophagia Dad & I have a standing joke. He flew fighters in th AF for 20 yrs. I served in the Army. When he asked me why I chose the Army over the AF, my reply was I wanted to be able to tell my children I served in the military! He still chuckles over that.
My Dad has over 4,000 hours in the 104 (various USAF and Canadian models) over 18 years of active duty in the Starfighter (4 years in the F100). I wish he was here to watch this video like Bill Gund's dad. Great video that really showcases what that amazing bird could do. Cheers.
Showed this to a family member who flew a 104G. You should have seen the smile on his face watching this. He was pointing out all the gauges on taxiing and clearly loving the flying. There’s something magical about these birds. They look like they’re going Mach 1 parked on the tarmac. Impossibly small razor thin wings. Just an amazing aircraft. That’s for taking us for a flight with you. And thanks for keeping the starfighter airborne
How impressive it is ! This remind me the fantastic airshows back in the 70/80's where the "104" was at the top 5 of the most incredible machines. Thanks for sharing !
Ciao, da Friulano e da ex Armiere del 22° Gruppo Caccia Intercettori di Istrana, un caro saluto a Te e a tutti gli specialisti del tuo bellissimo gruppo "Starfighters" in America.
Excellent. Cockpit noise level is pretty high. i guess i have always loved "dangerous" aircraft. The F-104 and the B-58 are two of my all time favourites. The sound of those engines and that wonderful and unique mid range Howl of that engine when throttling up or back. i'm former Air Force and i have always had a love affair with aircraft. Thanks for posting this.
@@paidgovernmentshill_6950 Sorry sport, the F-104 climb rate is 50,000 ft/min, at par with the amazing EE Lightning. So, they both climb like a bat out of hell!
ciao piercarlo. That reminds me, when we were in vacation in golfo di piombino, tuscany in the eighties. F104-pilots from grosseto made a little airshow for the people on the beach. First you could see a small static point just above the horizon close above the sea. Suddenly the point gets a small black cloud around and it becomes bigger. Seconds later the F104 reaches the beach in about 300ft, climbs up on the flames of the afterburner, and the noise is like hell on earth :-)
Ero con il Gen. Mainini e con tanti altri, il 13 aprile a Cape Canaveral . . . Grazie Piercarlo Ciacchi per averci fatto sognare con un tuo volo sullo "spillone" !
Such an iconic airplane I was lucky enough to see it fly along with the blackbird when I took my son then around thirteen years old to a air display at Greenham Common in the early eighties sadly we lost our son to cancer nine years ago but we do have wonderful memories
This is one of my favorite aircraft of all time and I had the opportunity to met a guy that flew these back in the 1960s. He told me that they were originally designed to come off the ground and climb to 40 thousand feet in 2 minutes to intercept enemy bombers which he said it was very good for that. But as a dogfighter, forget it!.... he told me because of the short stubby wings it was just not a tight turning aircraft and made a joke that it took half the state of Texas to make a 90 degree turn in it. Its biggest asset was its speed, climb an altitude it could reach. It also had short-range but he went on to tell me that of all the aircraft he flew this was his favorite
Well sir, it is a joy to watch your videos and see mastering different airplanes ✈️, but it has been a long time since the last one. When are you posting again? Thanks 🙏
Remember the 104 at Edwards AFB in 59 ,dont walk into the wing Ha. they looked to be all eng and fuel tanks. Had to help pick up one up on sad day RIP.
I remember being a child in Italy in the 70’s so many F104 flying and at quite low level too!!! I miss the sight... I am very interested to know what has been done to update cockpit and avionics: there is a nice LCD in the middle with some kind of GPS Map, it seems...
Spettacolo Comandante davvero impressionante. Spero un giorno di poterla venire a trovare in Florida ed ammirare da vicino il 104 ancora funzonante. Mi fa emozionare quando la vedo volare anche solo nello schermo del pc.
Penso che poter continuare a volare su quella macchina anche dopo un'esperienza da militare, debba essere una gran bella soddisfazione. È vero piacere poter vedere questi video. Grazie
I used to be at McConnell AFB in Wichita, KS. to pickup a friend who worked there. I saw 104's landing from the pattern and as i remember ( it was a long time ago) i was amazed at how close to a stall they were landing. The plane's tail was very low at a high angle of attack. Does anyone know if that's the way they land or is my memory faulty? Yeah, this jet is basically a rocket ship. Kelly Johnson and staff struck again.
We had a flight or two at (of F-104G's) Nellis AFB in the 1960's...Actually owned by German AF out of Luke AFB....The 104 was an enigma....The USAF had the "C" model but only for 10years IIRC...It was designed in the 50's to "Dash & Splash" an intruding enemy....It really was an ADC aircraft but ADC didn't them.....they had the better equipped 101, 102 and 106....The F0-105D/F saving grace was that they could carry heavy bomb loads.....
I think the F4 Phantom had a similar howl. The Oklahoma National Guard, 1978-1982 had F4 Phantoms and F7 Corsairs at Tulsa International and I loved the howl the F4s had when landing. It sounded almost demonic.
I'm just curious, how much it takes to keep a vintage jet like this airworthy? I mean the engine maintenance alone, how many J79s are their left in the world
