Loved this. My dad had over 5,000 hours in the F104 and his name is on the side of the static displace F104 in Fighter Airpark at Luke. At the time of this filming, he was the Airspace Manager for Arizona, stationed at Luke. This video has extra meaning for me. Cheers.
That flight would have been a dream come true for me... As a 49 yr old disabled vet, I'm never going to get to fly in an F104 (or any other century series jet). It's rare that you get to see the two seat F104 much less fly in one..... thanks for the video
Wow what an experience, wish I'd been sitting in that ejector seat! Loved the F104 ever since I was a kid, a true old school supersonic interceptor which still holds it's ground.
The Netherlands flew F-104's and I remember hearing them from far away, I would drop anything and run outside to watch them fly past. In '82 we replaced the 104 for the F-16 and eventhough I find that to be one of THE most beautifull aircraft of all times (with a reputation to match it looks), it never made my heart beat like the good old 104 did.. Like they say, there is only one first love and this is mine. The Starfighter (what a name...
We called it 'de vliegende kachelpijp' ( flying chimney) and back in 1977 they participated in ending the train jacking near 'de punt'. They didn't shoot, didn't drop payload either but simply flew over the track at the crack of dawn low,fast and with afterburners to confuse the hijackers... ( which worked well) Special forces on the ground stormed the train and ended the hijacking.
Thanks for the flight. I totally enjoyed it. I was Army during Vietnam, but my passion is flying. I hold a US and Canadian private license and built two airplanes and flown a T-28 Trojan. It is my dream to fly in a fighter.
Like the rest, thx for the me,movies. I was in the AFROTC in college and in a patriotic variety show that would travel around the west doing events. I have a low voice, so I would come out and narrate “High Flight, “ with a 104 on the screen behind me. Once upon a time there. We’re only three TV channels and they all signed off at midnight. To close out the broadcast day they would often show a patriotic theme video and High Flight was one of them. Went on to fly in the Air Force and retired as a 787 CA fro American two years ago. It was a wonderful life.
As a kid I always remember the 104 jocks on base... they had the "spurs" on their boots and would walk so that you heard them and knew they were the 104 pilots. Heck, most of them even had them chromed.
@Ben Harry Cool, what video? I still dig watching that old stuff. We were at Wheelus 63&66 and Weisbaden/Rhein-Main in between and after... so I grew up with the Century Series and the first F-4s. Being a hanger rat is probably what drove me to Canoe U. and to fly Navy.
11 and a half minute video, of a star fighter, from nellis to Phoenix. I came here because I thought it was an unedited video, being Mach 2+ capable. Not the case but I’m not disappointed. What a beaut of a jet
This aircraft had the older style J79 in it- with the original combustor liners that left a nice smoke trail. You can hear the howling from the air inlets as the engine rpm's change during approach too!
When I was stationed at Luke AFB in the early 70s there was a whole squadron of 104s owned by the German Luftwaffe. They were training pilots on the Gila Bend gunnery range, now called the Barry Goldwater Training Range. It was always a thrill to watch them and the F4s takeoff at full afterburner.
If flaps inoperable it was recommended to eject rather than attempt landing do to increased stalling speed at touch down. It’s high mount T tail was to lessen the threat of pitch roll coupling loss of control. As on F-101 Voo DOO as well. Low level incurs the threat of bird strikes. Nap of earth flying at increased speed was pioneered by the Convair B-58 Hustler,, a division of General Dynamics Fort Worth Texas. Just a beautiful tour of south western United States.
It's funny but back in the early 1990's while I was in Air Defense as a Stinger 16S we had to study this aircraft VACR (Visual Aircraft Recognition) even though this is a 1950's era aircraft. This is a great video!!!
I lived at Cold Lake/Medley Air Force Base in Alberta fro 1960 until 1967. The sky was thick with CF104s. I was too young to understand the majesty of these unbridled birds. The PMQs would resonate to engines being tested miles away. My dad went on search way to often when the 104s fell, but it was the times. I would give a lot to see and hear one today.
Fraser, I too am an airforce brat. I am Larry Henry, son of Captn. C.J. (Hank) HENRY. Dad was stationed at Cold Lake 1960 to 1965 and flew the CF-104 . I suspect you and I are about the same age. I would love to talk with you. Is your father still with us, mine is in Vancouver aged 93. Cheers. I can be reached at 780-967-1048
I know it sorta goes without saying given the minuscule wing area (as well as the super-low aspect ratio) but I can't believe how smooth the flight is even right down on the deck, over hot, thermal-y desert, to boot!. Any other tac jet would be bouncing your helmet off the canopy and you'd be hard pressed to see straight.
Man, you're lucky to have done this! What were the fuel costs? They called these the Dollar Rides in the Airforce, but I think this cost a few dollars more today. No offense... but I'd not focus so much on the ejection seat, if your going to "go" you might as well do it like that! I bet the guy in the boat at minute 7:13 (off the starboard wing) made a mess in his boat!!!! And you got to do a touch and go....seriously...you must be connected! Glad you got to do this.. the smile on your face at the end...showed you enjoyed it! Congrats.
Super cool. I built a giant scale rc f104 and there are videos of it at the joe nall event on RUclips. They are awesome airplanes I’d love to fly in a full size. It took me a long time to build mine
Flying pretty low the whole way. I'm guessing the J-79 rattled some windows in Vegas as they exited the area. Probably scared the bejeesus out of a few fishermen at those reservoirs!
I did not catch the airport you arrived at, it looks like Mesa Gateway, the old Williams AFB, but it had to be Luke AFB, the only Phoenix area base, please set me straight, great flight and video, Thanks
Awsome flight and footage. The F-104 is my favorite fighter plane - its really nice to see there are still some in action. Is this one a private one under civil registrattion?
I knew the Starfighter´s wings were tiny, but seeing those little "air cutters" from the cockpit is somewhat scary... "where's the rest of my wing????"
The touch and go landing looks like old Williams Air force base (now Williams Gateway) to me. Not Luke. And finishing the video it he landed at williams.
Man what a thrill. I’d pay anything to do that. That thing was just idling and moving so fast. I wonder if those ejection seats were operational though. I’d be asking I have to admit.
i used to live in Wichita, KS in the 70's and saw 104's landing there. They would come in at a much higher AoA, The tail would be hanging down close to a stall which amazed me. Anyone know anymore about landing speeds? Also, did you land at Luke AFB?
yes at high level, the F-15 would have no trouble. The starfighter really shines down low were the air is thick and most planes have a harder time getting more than mach 1.8. the nuclear inteceptors of the century series were designed for raw speed whereas the modern Fighters are built more for economy and high end sensor pakages. though to weapons and avionics on most make the starfighters supirior speed and aerodynamic coefficent rather moot. not bad for something built in the 50's though.
Served in a zipper outfit 64-67, biggest disappointment is I never rode one. There was a mod to remove downward ejection seats, @ by c/d models, had the Martin-Baker seats.
I’m confused as to how you guys were flying less than a hundred feet above the ground, as the FAA limit is 500’ above rural areas, and 1000’ above congested areas (unless you’re in an emergency or T/O / LND). Unless you guys were in a MOA, however there were boats and cars and stuff... oh well. Great video
In the mid 1960s, the Blue Angles were flying Phantoms and during a low flyby over Kelowna British Columbia, one of them accidentally broke the sound barrier to catch up. I was a little boy at the time, but I remember walking downtown in the aftermath and all the main street shops had boarded up windows, with piles of swept glass like snow banks on the sidewalks.
Why is it illegal to break the sound barrier? When would you be permitted to? If you are flying over water, forest or a dry lake would it be a problem?
@@jaik195701 John M likes his ladies in curlers and a frumpy housecoat. He gets a little turned on when his lady takes her teeth out and plops them in a glass of water for the night.
Why is he flying so low? This plane was made for higher altitudes. The lake is pretty but if there’s any problems you don’t have time or space to deal with them.
What a treat. Nice to see the original sound was left in the video, instead of dubbing some cheesy music over it. Thank you.
Loved this. My dad had over 5,000 hours in the F104 and his name is on the side of the static displace F104 in Fighter Airpark at Luke. At the time of this filming, he was the Airspace Manager for Arizona, stationed at Luke. This video has extra meaning for me. Cheers.
That flight would have been a dream come true for me... As a 49 yr old disabled vet, I'm never going to get to fly in an F104 (or any other century series jet). It's rare that you get to see the two seat F104 much less fly in one..... thanks for the video
I remember this bird when it was in service. Unique sound of the engine.
@@derpanzerkommandant4641 absolutely
Thank you for your service! That would be a dream for me too, probably any red blooded male😉👍🇺🇸
Under the cloud deck...."I haved slipped the surley bonds of Earth"....comes to mind...
Great video !!
Wow what an experience, wish I'd been sitting in that ejector seat! Loved the F104 ever since I was a kid, a true old school supersonic interceptor which still holds it's ground.
" Ejection"
Great video..... After 55 years of flying, it still raises the hair on the back of the neck. Pure adrenaline.......
The Netherlands flew F-104's and I remember hearing them from far away, I would drop anything and run outside to watch them fly past. In '82 we replaced the 104 for the F-16 and eventhough I find that to be one of THE most beautifull aircraft of all times (with a reputation to match it looks), it never made my heart beat like the good old 104 did.. Like they say, there is only one first love and this is mine. The Starfighter (what a name...
We called it 'de vliegende kachelpijp' ( flying chimney) and back in 1977 they participated in ending the train jacking near 'de punt'. They didn't shoot, didn't drop payload either but simply flew over the track at the crack of dawn low,fast and with afterburners to confuse the hijackers... ( which worked well) Special forces on the ground stormed the train and ended the hijacking.
Thanks for the flight. I totally enjoyed it. I was Army during Vietnam, but my passion is flying. I hold a US and Canadian private license and built two airplanes and flown a T-28 Trojan. It is my dream to fly in a fighter.
My favorite jet of all time. So glad I found this video.
Hard to believe we were going Mach 2 just 10 years after WW2. This plane is still one of fastest planes around.
Like the rest, thx for the me,movies. I was in the AFROTC in college and in a patriotic variety show that would travel around the west doing events. I have a low voice, so I would come out and narrate “High Flight, “ with a 104 on the screen behind me. Once upon a time there. We’re only three TV channels and they all signed off at midnight. To close out the broadcast day they would often show a patriotic theme video and High Flight was one of them. Went on to fly in the Air Force and retired as a 787 CA fro American two years ago. It was a wonderful life.
Thanks for sharing. I was out of the fence of Nellis afb that day, and still remember that take off after Aviation Nation 2008.
You are very fortunate to get a ride in a 104
As a kid I always remember the 104 jocks on base... they had the "spurs" on their boots and would walk so that you heard them and knew they were the 104 pilots. Heck, most of them even had them chromed.
@Ben Harry Cool, what video? I still dig watching that old stuff. We were at Wheelus 63&66 and Weisbaden/Rhein-Main in between and after... so I grew up with the Century Series and the first F-4s. Being a hanger rat is probably what drove me to Canoe U. and to fly Navy.
@@ramosel ruclips.net/video/eB8l_fCKDSw/видео.html This is the video he may be referring to.
Put the spur to her! She'll climb!
That was great, fastest trip across a small part of the US desert I'll ever have, thanks for the upload. Have a great day!
Thanks for the memories.
Class 57-U. Bryan AFB, TX
Major USAF Retired
Thanks for your service. The world of Drone "pilots" is here.. and it's awful! You got to fly in aviation's golden age...i'm jealous!
Thx for your service sir.
11 and a half minute video, of a star fighter, from nellis to Phoenix. I came here because I thought it was an unedited video, being Mach 2+ capable. Not the case but I’m not disappointed. What a beaut of a jet
I loved the flight . Worked on them from 1968 to 1994 Luke and NASA
This aircraft had the older style J79 in it- with the original combustor liners that left a nice smoke trail. You can hear the howling from the air inlets as the engine rpm's change during approach too!
a very significant sound
Yes!
Total monster. Made my evening. Thanks for uploading and thanks for not adding music!!
Great Video. Thanks for the ride in one of the fastest Jet Fighters in the world-The F-104 Starfighter.
Thanks for the ride. How I envy you those wide open spaces compared with over-crowded over-populated crummy Britain.
Certainly over populated, try and think of it not as “crummy” but “room for improvement”
The shadow is nice to see how fast he is moving.
The Lockheed F104 Starfighter did go on to set and break the World Altitude and Speed Records in its time.
When I was stationed at Luke AFB in the early 70s there was a whole squadron of 104s owned by the German Luftwaffe. They were training pilots on the Gila Bend gunnery range, now called the Barry Goldwater Training Range. It was always a thrill to watch them and the F4s takeoff at full afterburner.
I remember that. I was there as a 462 on the F-4, and the "new" F-15 🔥🔥 '75/76.
I love the Starfigther, great shot. 👍
If flaps inoperable it was recommended to eject rather than attempt landing do to increased stalling speed at touch down.
It’s high mount T tail was to lessen the threat of pitch roll coupling loss of control. As on F-101 Voo DOO as well.
Low level incurs the threat of bird strikes. Nap of earth flying at increased speed was pioneered by the Convair B-58 Hustler,, a division of General Dynamics Fort Worth Texas.
Just a beautiful tour of south western United States.
I'm 53 saw a b58 at an air show in so cal when I was 10 thought they were out of service by then I remember clearly can u explain?
It's funny but back in the early 1990's while I was in Air Defense as a Stinger 16S we had to study this aircraft VACR (Visual Aircraft Recognition) even though this is a 1950's era aircraft. This is a great video!!!
TF-104G! First time i saw inside cockpit during flight! Realy nice.
@Tomasz Klisz Because the "G"? my mistake!
Great video and a nice low level flight. Thanks for the ride.
From one great pilot to another,,good job mate !! 🍺 😎 👍
I lived at Cold Lake/Medley Air Force Base in Alberta fro 1960 until 1967. The sky was thick with CF104s. I was too young to understand the majesty of these unbridled birds. The PMQs would resonate to engines being tested miles away. My dad went on search way to often when the 104s fell, but it was the times. I would give a lot to see and hear one today.
Fraser, I too am an airforce brat. I am Larry Henry, son of Captn. C.J. (Hank) HENRY. Dad was stationed at Cold Lake 1960 to 1965 and flew the CF-104 . I suspect you and I are about the same age. I would love to talk with you. Is your father still with us, mine is in Vancouver aged 93. Cheers. I can be reached at 780-967-1048
LILIANA HENRY || Hi Liliana, I recommend removing your phone number now!
Every time I see the F104, I think Chuck Yeager.
RIP Sky Legend
I think of my father...he logged 1120 plus hrs inCF104 and 104D
Thanks for the ride in the world’s sexiest jet! If I had been in the plane, it would take surgery to remove the grin on my face!
Awesome , thanks for the ride fellas!
Great video, thanks for sharing!! What a ride!!
Manned missile!; What a cool aircraft, and it whistles like the F4. Kelly Johnson had it cracking! I think he did the A-4 and P-38 too.
R Benson he did! 👍
The A-4 Sky Hawk was made by the Douglas Aircraft company, Ed Heinemann was the chief designer.
@@bryanhinds8522 A-4 Sky Hawk was made by Douglas Aviation, not Lockheed!
U2 and A12/SR71
The U2 was a 104 derivative
These low level flights above Lake Meade and Lake Powell are really nice !!
I'm pretty sure the second body of water they flew over was Lake Pleasant.
Great to see some flying in the zipper, learning this in FSX and was like OMG at your speed on finals!
I know it sorta goes without saying given the minuscule wing area (as well as the super-low aspect ratio) but I can't believe how smooth the flight is even right down on the deck, over hot, thermal-y desert, to boot!. Any other tac jet would be bouncing your helmet off the canopy and you'd be hard pressed to see straight.
Wow. Nice flight. The F104 was a gas guzzler by design, and at that relatively low altitude, it was sucking that gas. Nice
In Air Cadets I was trained up for a Famil flight in T33 what a ride. CFB Baden. 1974
Simply amazing. Thanks for sharing this video.
That is one wild low-altitude ride!
I was wondering when the howling wolf pack was going to say there part !!! Love that sound very unique part of that plane’s heritage.
Wow.... thanks for a ride 👍.
Man, you're lucky to have done this! What were the fuel costs? They called these the Dollar Rides in the Airforce, but I think this cost a few dollars more today.
No offense... but I'd not focus so much on the ejection seat, if your going to "go" you might as well do it like that!
I bet the guy in the boat at minute 7:13 (off the starboard wing) made a mess in his boat!!!!
And you got to do a touch and go....seriously...you must be connected! Glad you got to do this.. the smile on your face at the end...showed you enjoyed it! Congrats.
It's more like at 07:06
Max burn is ~85 gal per minute at Military Power and 2x that in “reheat”
Such an amazing aircraft. I’ve always wanted a ride in a Starfighter. Very cool. 😎
Imagine this is your private jet....much style
A good example of making anything fly given enough thrust. As far as a craft meant to fly at its inception.
Reallly something to see. A classic aircraft. Thanks for the video. Now where’s the VR guys putting flying videos?
Awesome video. Funny thing to think about is if you met some modern fighters up there you would have no problem out running them.
Wow! I am a GA pilot in AZ i have seen these views, but not from a Starfighter! wow!
Amazing this smooth ride in the "Formula One" among the jets. Like in a Cessna 172. Even I could endure that...
Nothing like a nice Sunday afternoon ride 😎👍🇺🇸
This plane was literally built around the motor what a hotrod!
Super cool. I built a giant scale rc f104 and there are videos of it at the joe nall event on RUclips. They are awesome airplanes I’d love to fly in a full size. It took me a long time to build mine
Imagine being on your boat and an 104 just screams overhead at a 100feet
Flying pretty low the whole way. I'm guessing the J-79 rattled some windows in Vegas as they exited the area. Probably scared the bejeesus out of a few fishermen at those reservoirs!
Wonder if the howl made some little kids freak out 😂
I wonder how much flight minute costs...
I did not catch the airport you arrived at, it looks like Mesa Gateway, the old Williams AFB, but it had to be Luke AFB, the only Phoenix area base, please set me straight, great flight and video, Thanks
+SJ Bobkins It is Phoenix Mesa Gateway. I know the area well, and I've seen this plane there.
Best kind of flying, speed of heat in the weeds!
The rear view mirrors looks like they took em off a 62 Dart..
Awsome flight and footage. The F-104 is my favorite fighter plane - its really nice to see there are still some in action. Is this one a private one under civil registrattion?
What a nice ride. I wish I knew somebody who could take to another city inside an F-105 or F4.
I knew the Starfighter´s wings were tiny, but seeing those little "air cutters" from the cockpit is somewhat scary... "where's the rest of my wing????"
104 must have the highest wing loading of the u.s. inventory?
148 lbs/ft^2
The touch and go landing looks like old Williams Air force base (now Williams Gateway) to me. Not Luke. And finishing the video it he landed at williams.
Very dangerous plan to fly, totally unforgiving. Great video!
Excellent video...
For us pilots would love to have had you focus in on the airspeed at various aspects of the flight but nonetheless very good!
It's epic, wish we had more.
Man what a thrill. I’d pay anything to do that. That thing was just idling and moving so fast. I wonder if those ejection seats were operational though. I’d be asking I have to admit.
i used to live in Wichita, KS in the 70's and saw 104's landing there. They would come in at a much higher AoA, The tail would be hanging down close to a stall which amazed me. Anyone know anymore about landing speeds? Also, did you land at Luke AFB?
DIdn't the F104 eject downwards?
And the J-79 howled the entire way...
You hear the "Starfighter howl" for a second or three around @10:37 in the video.
With that tiny wing, the approach speed must be like 200kt or something?
Got a stick a Beemans?
Just looked at one at Duxford.....no wings?
Why is it anything American on youtube is the lowest quality video. We did have HD in 2008 and had it for awhile.
Wait, is the the red, white, and blue F-104 that I see at KIWA?
yes at high level, the F-15 would have no trouble. The starfighter really shines down low were the air is thick and most planes have a harder time getting more than mach 1.8. the nuclear inteceptors of the century series were designed for raw speed whereas the modern Fighters are built more for economy and high end sensor pakages. though to weapons and avionics on most make the starfighters supirior speed and aerodynamic coefficent rather moot. not bad for something built in the 50's though.
Dang, your computer runs MSFS a lot better than mine!
I take it by your description this TF-104 was equipped with the C-2 Ejection seat and never upgraded with the MB MK5?
Served in a zipper outfit 64-67, biggest disappointment is I never rode one. There was a mod to remove downward ejection seats, @ by c/d models, had the Martin-Baker seats.
Could anyone please tell the story behind the video?
How comes there is a TF still flying?
Impressive. Sure would have liked to have been in the back seat.
This, the F-4 and F-14 are proof that if you give something a big enough engine, it WILL fly.
This. Is. Fuckiny. Insane. I. Love. Every. Second. Of. It.
This is AWESOME..
I’m confused as to how you guys were flying less than a hundred feet above the ground, as the FAA limit is 500’ above rural areas, and 1000’ above congested areas (unless you’re in an emergency or T/O / LND). Unless you guys were in a MOA, however there were boats and cars and stuff... oh well. Great video
They were flying at least 500' above.
nice. it looked like it was still going a pretty good clip.
This is AMAZING
hi why is it illegal to break the sound barrier?
Too much potential to do damage on the ground, mostly. Then, the Powers-that-Be also hate the idea of civilians being able to do military-grade stuff.
In the mid 1960s, the Blue Angles were flying Phantoms and during a low flyby over Kelowna British Columbia, one of them accidentally broke the sound barrier to catch up. I was a little boy at the time, but I remember walking downtown in the aftermath and all the main street shops had boarded up windows, with piles of swept glass like snow banks on the sidewalks.
The plane of the free world.
I want to know if that was lake Powell or lake Meade
Can anyone explain the lingering, low-angle takeoff? It seems to me that he's spending an awful long time relatively close to the runway on takeoff.
Imagine being out on a boat in the middle of a lake and seeing a 104 buzz by 50 feet off the surface
Why is it illegal to break the sound barrier? When would you be permitted to? If you are flying over water, forest or a dry lake would it be a problem?
Flying from big city to big city
Very cool! She's one sexy lady who knows nothing but going fast.
77Avadon77 and being a deathtrap.
john m well that’s part of the allure of any dangerous lady
@@jaik195701 John M likes his ladies in curlers and a frumpy housecoat. He gets a little turned on when his lady takes her teeth out and plops them in a glass of water for the night.
Why is he flying so low? This plane was made for higher altitudes. The lake is pretty but if there’s any problems you don’t have time or space to deal with them.