F-104 Heritage Flight

[justforever96]

Ahh, I love the sound of a J79 in the morning, and the smell of burning kerosene...

[sistermicrowave]

Possibly the only F-104 that managed to land...

[justforever96]

@sistermicrowave Exagerrating a bit, aren't we? Besides, it's like they say, EVERY takeoff has a landing, only some are much better than others!

[justforever96]

The planes are cool as hell, but this video sucks, and so does the airshow itself.

[pliedas]

@justforever96 yeah, whats up with that gay ass music. Might as well play some "Wham" too.

[thesixtiesguy]

Man. Thanks you so much for posting this video. I remember the 104's flying over my town in central Indiana but I think they were ANG. Anyway, does anyone else feel proud to be an American when they watch vids like this?

[pizzman721]

this is awesome

[iloverush123]

there's a reason they call it a missile.

[phonix032]

woooooooooooooooooooooo that howl is awesome!

[3IDLukeK]

that thing is a rocket with wings, that one comes to the tico warbird show here by me, great plane

[0525734]

the f-104 is my favorite plane it looks awesome!!!!

[joeferrito]

she's awesome, eh?

[jjojo2004]

It's good to see someone is still keeping one of these aviation classics airworthy! Now all we need is a restored airworthy F-8 Crusader to join the F-104.......

[Jaliya48]

There's a thought!

[doctorwhonico]

Simple awesome plane!

[2mad4peace]

Love that signature howl as they pass over.

[wittmann]

love the J-79 howl!

[thevegetarian]

Great noise! Wish the would turn the music off though.

[darcula08]

the missile with a man in it! the f-104 starfighter is small but very nimble and verastile. Much respect to you!!!

[TimeTimer3000]

bad planes!

[usm7j]

My father was a Zipper Instructor. Gawd, how he loved that plane. The only other one that could compete with his affection for the 104 was the F-86. I consider it a privilege to have grown up as an Air Force brat and was able to see so many aircraft up close. Love the howl of the J-79. Sounds like like some kind of primeval beast on the hunt.

[aruju01]

We work on the engines up here in Northern British Columbia. These planes actually run one of two different types, a GE built J79-11, or a lisenced Canadian Built Orenda J79OEL-7 They smoke due to the old style combustor cans. In the early 1980's a new "LoSmoke" combustor design was introduced, which really cleaned these engines up. If you want to see a J79-11 running up close, check out the "North American Eagle" videos. The first set of these videos has a -11A running on my cell.

[chuck7520]

My dad was the GE Tec Rep for the F-104 program at Lockheed Palmdale in the early 1950's, he redesigned the intake (The intake moves) and the result is the distinctive whistle of the intake. And I was there with him when the 1st 2 F-104's were delivered to the Navy for hi-speed hi-altitude weapons testing at China Lake NOTC. They lost 9 pilots and 11 aircraft in the 2 year test program that was top secret at the time, now it's just a side note in history.

[chug26]

i saw these guys preform yesterday at the andrews afb airshow nice flying i ahve it on video

[e4e5d4]

damn, the f104 is one sexy fighter!

[Cedrusdeodara]

My father flew over 1000 hours in the F104. He retired early from the USAF after seeing two other pilots die due to crashes in this bird, neither were due to operator error but plane malfunctions. One was lauched into the runway during takeoff (ejection was through the floor due to high tail wing), the other lost his cockpit airshield for no known reason and crashed.

[gragrn]

A beautiful plane, still looks modern today!

[e633xx]

One hell of an engine with barely a seat and a pair of small wings bolted on... but god, what an interceptor!

[Rhenoism]

Even by today's standards, the Starfighter's engine was very sophisticated. For 1955, it was phenominal, almost out of this world.

[shortkid97]

my dad flew f-104s for the RCAF

[wittmann]

Also a member of Fencecheck which the commentator commented on :)

[wittmann]

gotta love the banshee howl of the F-104

[hoggdawn]

One problem with the -104 that is often overlooked: the ejector seats fired downward. Which was great if you were over 5000 feet. Not nice to eject at low altitude. Does anyone know why this was? Did they ever change the configuration of the seats?

[clikescereal]

They had it wired that way due to concerns that the seat wouldn't be able to clear the tailplane 100% of the time. Eventually, tests proved these fears were unfounded and they started using conventional e-seats.

[hoggdawn]

hmmm---I did some research and you, "denmalski", have more arrogance than knowledge. The early versions did, in fact, have downward ejection seats. For low altitude bailouts, pilots were trained to roll the aircraft inverted and then bail. This actually caused some fatalities when upward firing models were rolled by pilots trained on the earlier system. For a comprehensive explanation of the system, just google "F-104 downward ejection." And then don't be so cock-sure in your assertions.

[xxwzaebd]

The slightly later F4 Phantom was much better since it was much more maneuverable while still being fast. The Phantom is still in service in many countries.

[dalzilla]

Can anybody tell me if this Guy flys out of Clearwater International? I see a white bellied 104 shooting touch & Go's over my work all the time. I think this is the plane.

[Dwarvymcdwar]

Yep thats him hes got a hangar down at st. pete clearwater where he keeps them. happens to be my uncle lol thrill to be with 50 ft of this thing when it fires its engine.

[dalzilla]

Thanks! he shoots touch & go's over the place I work (ION TV) on 66th Street all day sometimes! Very Cool!

[denmalski]

Many nick names for this plane, Zipper,missile with a man in it, Widow Maker but my Favorite was " the Aluminum Death Tube "

[j85can40]

it is the first airplane to beak the sound barrier at sea level

[brtshstel]

It was also the first aircraft to sustain Mach 2 flight instead of just a short dash.

[fr3ds4t]

We'll never forget you "spillone"!!!

[pfiffer2974]

missile with a man in it!

[korn37411]

im lucky the starfighters come to chattanooga several times a year i love that aircraft!!!

[Roadrage9]

The f-104 starfighter goes 1146 miles per hour, and has a wingspan of 21feet and 9 inches, its exiliary fueltanks hold 740 liters of fuel, and the wingtip tanks on each side are full with exactly 1257 liters of fuel,it has a General Electric afterburning thrust J79-GE-11A turbojet engine. ^^^^^^^^ Just some fact about the plane for you jet lovers like me!

[dguy812]

Beautiful aircraft, love the sound, but it seems to me they don't burn their fuel very clean. Must be that particular engine.

[67hippie]

No, that's what J79's look like. Take a look at an F-4 if you really want to see smoke.

[dguy812]

Yeah, The phantom had dual J79's, I think. I really like learning about these old jets. They fascinate me.

[104starfighter]

What a beautiful bird. My dad worked on these planes so they have a special place in my heart. They also wear the same patch on their flight suits as my Dad did on his uniform,I've got his original. Glad to see people still love these old birds flyin. THESE AND ALL OTHERS ARE THE SOUND OF FREEDOM!!!!!

[SenorSpode]

Arright, ya said it once.

The F-104 was a peculiarity: It needed "blown" flaps for low-speed operation (Intake air was ducted over the wing root to energise airflow) and the leading edges were so sharp that edge guards were installed over them on the ground to protect ground crew servicing the aircraft. Quite the plane!

[104starfighter]

What a beautiful bird. My dad worked on these planes so they have a special place in my heart. They also wear the same patch on their flight suits as my Dad did on his uniform,I've got his original. Glad to see people still love these old birds flyin. THESE AND ALL OTHERS ARE THE SOUND OF FREEDOM!!!!!

[WulfAce]

The article I read was only concerned with the USAF planes that operated in Vietnam, and that what was the "combat" I was referring to, ie air combat.

The article claimed that the F 104's did fire sidewinder missiles at Communist positions at night that had cooking fires.

I suppose you could say it engaged the enemy, but this was not what I had in mind in earlier comment, only air combat.

[rundigeeta]

F-104 also took important role during pak indo war during 1965 and 71 and shoot down 8 indian supirior fighter jets!

[WulfAce]

Have always loved this jet since I was young boy back in 1960 - had a little picture collactible from Nestles chocalates of it thought it was the best plane in the world.

Read once that the only combat it saw was in Vietnam flying escort but it never engaged any migs.

[cupwithhandles]

I read wikipedia, which said it did engage and lost to a Mig during a Pakistan/India war

[rundigeeta]

ohhh plezz dont trust that wakopedia!!! such related issues are filled with indian propagandashit..

[GUTTERbOY001]

What a great airplane. I was at the Oceana show where I presume this was taken just a few weeks ago- always a good time. Thanks for some video memories, I love seeing the Starfighter fly.