F-104A

Retired USAF fighter pilot who never had the chance to fly the F-104 explains why, despite the Starfighter many problems, he would love to fly the Zipper – The Aviation Geek Club

‘For all the bad-mouthing the F-104 has received in the past, if I had the money (and my wife would let me … which she definitely would not!) I would buy and fly the Starfighter,’ Roger Daisley, retired USAF F-89 Scorpion fighter pilot. Known as “the missile with a man in it,” the stubby-winged Lockheed …

Retired USAF fighter pilot who never had the chance to fly the F-104 explains why, despite the Starfighter many problems, he would love to fly the Zipper – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

Former F-104 Pilots explain why despite the Starfighter many limitations they loved flying the Zipper – The Aviation Geek Club

Despite the Starfighter shortcomings, the pilots who flew the F-104 fell in love with it. The Lockheed F-104 was the first operational fighter capable of sustaining speeds above Mach 2. Development of the F-104 began in 1952, and the first XF-104 made its initial flight in 1954. On May 18, 1958, an F-104A set a …

Former F-104 Pilots explain why despite the Starfighter many limitations they loved flying the Zipper – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

The story of the South Carolina Air National Guard F-104 pilot that nearly intercepted a CIA U-2 and caused the replacement of SCANG Starfighters with F-102 Delta Daggers – The Aviation Geek Club

By 1963 the USAF had revised its plans for the F-104, cutting its initial orders for 722 jets down to 296. It also decided to return the ANG F-104As to ADC national control. Designed by Lockheed’s ace engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson to surpass the MiG-15 fighters that had stunned the aeronautical world in Korea, the …

The story of the South Carolina Air National Guard F-104 pilot that nearly intercepted a CIA U-2 and caused the replacement of SCANG Starfighters with F-102 Delta Daggers – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

Project Featherduster: the exercise that proved the F-104 was a better MiG killer than the F-4C, F-105D and F-100D – The Aviation Geek Club

Pilots flying the F-86H in the role of the MiG-17 found that the F-104 was the most challenging of all these adversary fighters even in some high-g turning situations. Designed as a supersonic superiority fighter, the F-104 Starfighter was produced in two major versions. Armed with a six-barrel M-61 20mm Vulcan cannon, it served as …

Project Featherduster: the exercise that proved the F-104 was a better MiG killer than the F-4C, F-105D and F-100D – The Aviation Geek Club Read More »

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