With a stall speed of 230mph, you just light the burners and keep them on until the wheels touch the ground. Any slower and you'll find out how a sleek looking aircraft can become an airborne brick.
. By the way, not to put down the Germans. They are fine fighter pilots. The F-104 in the hands of a properly trained individual would fly to the edge and back of the flight envelope. The Germans did have a tendancy to fly it to the edge before getting to know the girl. She had the nickname of Widowmaker. You had to treat the lady with respect or she would kill you. Respect to Canada and Italy also. also the ejector seat was set up to shoot you down, not up.RIP low altitude. Ciao~!
On May 18, 1958, an F-104A set a world speed record of 1,404.19 mph, and on December 14, 1959, an F-104C set a world altitude record of 103,395 feet. The Starfighter was the first aircraft to hold simultaneous official world records for speed, altitude and time-to-climb.
anhacus get your facts straight . The reason why the Germans crashed so many was because their pilots had never flown such a fast aircraft. They did not have the two seat 104 trainer to have instructor flight training. It was heres the book, have a nice flight.The 104 was an awesome aircraft in the hands of an experienced pilot.
Indeed.....the F-104 was like nothing else developed in the 50's, a fantastic leap forward in supersonic flight. It did have a high accident rate because it was so unforgiving if a pilot exceeded the envelope. It's nicknames tell the tale, "Widowmaker....Ground Nail....Flying Coffin". It was still just so damn cool. Even by today's standards it's performance in speed/time to climb/altitude are impressive. Kelly Johnson and the Skunkworks must have been a great place to work in that era.
The attrition rate in German service was not greater than that of the F-104 in service with several other air forces. Italy lost 137 theirs 360 F-104s. Canada had the unenviable record of losing 110 of its 200 CF-104s in flying accidents.
As well as the 200 CF-104's built by Canadair in Montreal, the RCAF operated 38 Lockheed-built CF-104D's. You're quite correct: 110 104's lost out of a 238 aircraft fleet. When one considers the 25-year service life and the low-altitude/high speed/single-engine/marginal weather missions undertaken, the attrition rate becomes understandable. It was a fine aircraft, and served Canada very well.
Yes, it had a high rate of sink. It also had a tendency to flame out before they put the compensators in. It killed many pilots. I believe over 100 in Germany alone.
It still looks fast 55 years later!
abukamoon 5 months ago
Coffin
Bruno47602 6 months ago
3 things amaze me with this fighter:
1 Incredible speed for the time.
2 Air intake directly behind used shells ecection.
3 2 wasn't corrected - rather the whole project was dumped.
Was there more weaknesses around this one that I'm not aware of?
elmerexpress 6 months ago
With a stall speed of 230mph, you just light the burners and keep them on until the wheels touch the ground. Any slower and you'll find out how a sleek looking aircraft can become an airborne brick.
RacerXGTO 9 months ago
@RacerXGTO
It wasn't that bad. It was even possible to dead stick it in. (Landing with shut down engine).
sablatnic 6 months ago
. By the way, not to put down the Germans. They are fine fighter pilots. The F-104 in the hands of a properly trained individual would fly to the edge and back of the flight envelope. The Germans did have a tendancy to fly it to the edge before getting to know the girl. She had the nickname of Widowmaker. You had to treat the lady with respect or she would kill you. Respect to Canada and Italy also. also the ejector seat was set up to shoot you down, not up.RIP low altitude. Ciao~!
RobSar63 9 months ago
"Missle with a man in it"
speedskiff2 11 months ago
Era um grande fazedor de viuva.
studiodcj 11 months ago
Amtrak with Wings
fuhrman66 1 year ago
On May 18, 1958, an F-104A set a world speed record of 1,404.19 mph, and on December 14, 1959, an F-104C set a world altitude record of 103,395 feet. The Starfighter was the first aircraft to hold simultaneous official world records for speed, altitude and time-to-climb.
cyberarmy007 2 years ago
@cyberarmy007 little wing for that altitude must have been standing on its nose.
datzfast 1 year ago
anhacus get your facts straight . The reason why the Germans crashed so many was because their pilots had never flown such a fast aircraft. They did not have the two seat 104 trainer to have instructor flight training. It was heres the book, have a nice flight.The 104 was an awesome aircraft in the hands of an experienced pilot.
justwestofhell001 3 years ago
Indeed.....the F-104 was like nothing else developed in the 50's, a fantastic leap forward in supersonic flight. It did have a high accident rate because it was so unforgiving if a pilot exceeded the envelope. It's nicknames tell the tale, "Widowmaker....Ground Nail....Flying Coffin". It was still just so damn cool. Even by today's standards it's performance in speed/time to climb/altitude are impressive. Kelly Johnson and the Skunkworks must have been a great place to work in that era.
TheJomogogo 2 years ago
@TheJomogogo
In Canada, the CF-104 was referred to as the "Lawn dart" due to engine failure related crashes in the Arctic.
omarofcanada 4 months ago
The attrition rate in German service was not greater than that of the F-104 in service with several other air forces. Italy lost 137 theirs 360 F-104s. Canada had the unenviable record of losing 110 of its 200 CF-104s in flying accidents.
cyberarmy007 2 years ago
As well as the 200 CF-104's built by Canadair in Montreal, the RCAF operated 38 Lockheed-built CF-104D's. You're quite correct: 110 104's lost out of a 238 aircraft fleet. When one considers the 25-year service life and the low-altitude/high speed/single-engine/marginal weather missions undertaken, the attrition rate becomes understandable. It was a fine aircraft, and served Canada very well.
raynus1 2 years ago
I'm always amazed at how short the wings are on the F-104!
I'm also amazed at dumbasses, like the one below me.
dbviewer5 3 years ago 12
Yes, it had a high rate of sink. It also had a tendency to flame out before they put the compensators in. It killed many pilots. I believe over 100 in Germany alone.
anhacus 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
LIES
midniteKnite 4 years ago