I've been a pilot for most of my life. I think what inspired me was one day when I was five I saw four F-104s polished to a bright silver flying in formation over my house. They looked so amazing like spaceships. Starfighter was the perfect name. It was also the 1st fighter I got to sit in at an Air Force recruiting display. The wings were so sharp that they had to put covers over the leading edges. One thing I've learned over the years is it takes an extreme level of skill to fly the Starfighter. Flying one puts Mr. Ciacchi in the top echelon of pilots. World class. Thank you for keeping these pieces of history flying. And a thank you to Kelly Johnson (RIP) who designed this plane with a pencil and a slide rule. A true genius.
Starfighters were such a neat looking plane for sure. I fly a pitts special and am building a sopwith pup from the airdrome company and the guy helping me is a retired starfighter pilot and he can fly anything
Crazy plane flown by a crazy Italian, what could go wrong! A Lot of scandals and deaths behind that plane, so hard to see past it, but still an amazing video. Being half Italian myself ( my wife and son) I can say Italians are some of the best engineers in the world, people just see the Pizza and spaghetti, but when Italians puts their mind to engineering, they have no competition! I have worked with engineers almost of every nationality in the world, but in engineering Italians are in a class of their own.
The 104 along with the B 57 Hustler were such beautiful designed airplanes and fast. They looked sharp especially in the my polished silver aluminum skin. And only experienced and excellent pilots could fly them well.
Great video! The Starfighter F-104 is one of Kelly Johnson's greatest designs! Tiny wings great for mach 2+, but makes for high speed takeoffs and landings! 200kts makes the 7500ft runway look tiny! Great cockpit visibility!
A decade or more ago I lived on a flight path for PIE and I still remember being outside testing out a new camera lens when I heard this weird howl/whistle and as I watched, a pair of F-104's came into view. Probably have a few photos somewhere but it was a cool, serendipitous experience. These planes sound amazing.
Used to fly out of KTIX quite a bit about 20 years or so ago. Doesn't look like that helicopter school is still in operation there, on the east side of the runway. In fact it looks as though there have been lots of changes. Great video, thanks!
Oh che piacere,che bel mestiere... come mi piacerebbe essere un pilota del formidabile Starfighter...mi affascina fin da quando ero bambino,andavamo al mare in veneto negli anni 80 e se ne vedevano una fraccata,anche a fare passaggi a quote non troppo alte e velocità mostruosa,con inevitabile risultato acustico!bei tempi e tanta nostalgia...😢
🎉🎉🎉 Love your videos, you are my hero! Amazing aircraft, amazing pilot. Riding a fighter jet, I can just dream. And watching these videoes, dream continues 😂
I love the looks and sound of the F-104. I realize that you can't take a nap flying this one! It's not a Cessna150. My other favorite is the F-4 Phantom .Thanks for the ride.
I have a neighbor that I fly formation with pretty regularly.. we are just up the road from KSC in Spruce Creek. He flew F-104s back in the day and talks regularly about it. He was sent to Germany when they were experiencing high loss rates to start and teach Fighter Weapons School to get their losses more in line.. He always says.. 35,000’ & 750kts = Mach 1.0. I’d love to get a little stick time in that thing…
Madonna mia....godi come un canguro vietnamita!!!!! I parametri motore si vedono bene... stupendo video.magari a farne ancora tanti. Un 104 in volo nn si vede più. Grazie e saluti da Roma.
I didn't know any 104s were still flying. When I was a kid, when one would fly over my house, it would take me a minute or two to remember to start breathing again!
My father , an Air Force Captain in Tactical Air Command , was in an F-104 chasing a UFO that was spotted on radar in the 1960’s . He finally got a look at it he said it was huge ! Other jets were sent to help but did not get there in time . Ground control told him to shoot it down if he could not get it to land . Before he could shoot a strange light came on and the Starfighter began to shake and he was not able to control the plane . It began to be pulled Toward the UFO! Anyway that is all he remembers . I went on to be a successful Astronaut that I am sure you have heard of as I headed the first Saturn probe mission . They made a documentary about this called Tomorrow is Yesterday …… Look it up as I can not put in a link . Colonel Shawn Jeffery Christopher
Cavolo quando si avvicina al suolo, si avverte che và davvero veloce in configurazione atterraggio . Il tempo di regolare la trust , qualche colpetto al trim e lo devi mettere giu' . Temo che la telecamere , filtri la percezione reale, cioè la velocità percepita in cockpit è ancora maggiore. Ci vuole manico x lo spillone. Complimenti al P.C. e grazie per l'esperienze che condividi.
Sempre spettacolare. Un enorme peccato non voli più nessun 104 in Italia. Dalle parti del Monviso quando eri di servizio in Italia hai mai volato? Mi ricordo i 104 che arrivavano da Ghedi e poi passavano bassi in coppia vicino a Saluzzo. Mannaggia che nostalgia.
Video stupendo come sempre, complimenti. Sorrido al pensiero di quanti suoi ex colleghi pagherebbero per un'altro ultimo volo sul 104 in barba alla quinta generazione🤣
She's old but still badass. People look up when they hear it. When they see it they look for the cable holding it up because no way are those little wings supporting anything . . .
Spent my last ten years Captain 777. Totally annihilated my love for flying. I made a well thought decision when I was younger and chose civil aviation, to my regret later in life. But hey things weren't that bad all those years! An operational question: Why do you approach lower? Very flat. And flaps up at 350kts. Damn thats fast!
I've been a pilot for most of my life. I think what inspired me was one day when I was five I saw four F-104s polished to a bright silver flying in formation over my house. They looked so amazing like spaceships. Starfighter was the perfect name. It was also the 1st fighter I got to sit in at an Air Force recruiting display. The wings were so sharp that they had to put covers over the leading edges. One thing I've learned over the years is it takes an extreme level of skill to fly the Starfighter. Flying one puts Mr. Ciacchi in the top echelon of pilots. World class. Thank you for keeping these pieces of history flying. And a thank you to Kelly Johnson (RIP) who designed this plane with a pencil and a slide rule. A true genius.
Starfighters were such a neat looking plane for sure. I fly a pitts special and am building a sopwith pup from the airdrome company and the guy helping me is a retired starfighter pilot and he can fly anything
They look like a rocket with a seat on it, just beautiful !
You guys are heroes for keeping this thing flying. A real tribute to the aviation world.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful and spectacular images with us !
Flying this rocket with foot rests, truly requires skill. Wonderful video thank you for sharing!😁👍🫶🇧🇬
Thank you Piercarlo, this brings back wonderful memories of many great flights in the F-104G (German Navy!)!!
That is awesome!!!
Is it true the Luftwaffe used them in n a ground attack role? Seems crazy.
And thanks for your part in preventing WWIII!
@ Yes, the German Air Force and German Navy used the F-104G as Fighter Bombers and Recce aircraft.
Thanks Piercarlo & Co. for keeping the legend Alive. Please keep posting. Ciao
Fantastic! I used to love watching the RCAF CF-104s here in Canada.
My first thought was "that plane is thirty years older than the guy flying it".
Nice video, well done.
ahahhahah unfortunately yes, and i am more worried about the pilot's age lol
What an awesome job you have Piercarlo. 175 knot final!! 120 is too fast for my citation.
Nicely done Pier! Thanks for sharing.
I love the footage you are putting on on this amazing aircraft.
Beautiful. i love these little videos.
I flew F4s and F16s in the USAF. The thought of flying this jet in the pattern scares me to death.
"From 1961 onwards, Germany acquired 916 Lockheed F-104 Starfighters, of which 292 aircraft crashed and 116 pilots lost their lives".
@@michaelallen1396 The joke in Germany was that if you wanted a Starfighter, you simply needed to buy an acre of land and wait.
Keep your speed up.
I absolutely love that hotrod!
You guys are doing great work with an amazing aircraft 💪💯
Okay, at last, I feel a twinge of envy. What a challenge and fun. Good video.
That F104 is a rocket ship with winglets. One of my dream aircraft as a young model maker.
It takes some serious skills to pilot a bullet. Awesome!
Awesome Vid Pier.
Crazy plane flown by a crazy Italian, what could go wrong! A Lot of scandals and deaths behind that plane, so hard to see past it, but still an amazing video. Being half Italian myself ( my wife and son) I can say Italians are some of the best engineers in the world, people just see the Pizza and spaghetti, but when Italians puts their mind to engineering, they have no competition! I have worked with engineers almost of every nationality in the world, but in engineering Italians are in a class of their own.
I agree. My plane is Italian and wonderful, the Siai-Marchetti SF 260.
Totally agree , just try their cars ..I.e. LANCIA ...
The F-104 is an American aircraft
@@kdavidsmith1and they were extensively used by the Italian military long after the USA retired them.
@ianchandley true, but it was still designed and built for the USAF.
I would love to come to Florida to watch you guys flight this incredible aircraft. Great video!
I loved watching these while I was stationed in the EU.
The 104 along with the B 57 Hustler were such beautiful designed airplanes and fast. They looked sharp especially in the my polished silver aluminum skin. And only experienced and excellent pilots could fly them well.
Just to be pedantic, B-58 was the Hustler. B-57 was the Canberra.
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 . . .and the Cranberry is anything BUT sharp looking . . .
One of the coolest things I've seen on the RUclipss in a while...
What I would have given to be one of the guys holding short, watching your final approach. A memory for the ages!
Che meraviglia! Please more…MORE OF THIS!!
Great video! The Starfighter F-104 is one of Kelly Johnson's greatest designs! Tiny wings great for mach 2+, but makes for high speed takeoffs and landings! 200kts makes the 7500ft runway look tiny! Great cockpit visibility!
Again: thank you for these precious videos!
Yikes! Thanks for the ride!
A decade or more ago I lived on a flight path for PIE and I still remember being outside testing out a new camera lens when I heard this weird howl/whistle and as I watched, a pair of F-104's came into view. Probably have a few photos somewhere but it was a cool, serendipitous experience. These planes sound amazing.
Used to fly out of KTIX quite a bit about 20 years or so ago. Doesn't look like that helicopter school is still in operation there, on the east side of the runway. In fact it looks as though there have been lots of changes.
Great video, thanks!
Fantastic 👍🏼
Keep those coming. They are priceless!!!
Wow. The first time landing an F-104 must be, um, exhilarating.
Very nice in cockpit, great to see.
Basic training my first fighter plane displayed right outside our dorm. Wicked shape and design.
Fantastic this deserves a sub, lovely footage off a classic.
Che spettacolo! Grazie per la meravigliosa e preziosissima condivisione !
wow! That approach is REALLY flat! Nice video. Thanks for posting.
Oh che piacere,che bel mestiere... come mi piacerebbe essere un pilota del formidabile Starfighter...mi affascina fin da quando ero bambino,andavamo al mare in veneto negli anni 80 e se ne vedevano una fraccata,anche a fare passaggi a quote non troppo alte e velocità mostruosa,con inevitabile risultato acustico!bei tempi e tanta nostalgia...😢
Those Pipers holding short got a cool show that day, too.
Complimenti per il video. Sempre una bella emozione vedere lo Starfighter che dopo più di 40 anni di guardiano dei cieli in Italia continua a volare.
Beautiful view, thanks for sharing!
I’ve done e a go-around and landed at KTIX in a T-33. (Video on RUclips). Cool place. Cool plane, the 104. Nice video!!
The first word that popped into my head upon reading the title was "Short"
Some people have all the fun especially in a 104
Woww man !!!! fantastic video !! thank you for you sharing sir !
No HUD and working all the way through the groove. So fun fun to watch fast Vref approaches...
Love it! Great sequence.
They built the Starfighter for one thing.
Being able to land it safely was an afterthought.
Just love your content
Legend has it he is still trying to land this thing.
🎉🎉🎉 Love your videos, you are my hero! Amazing aircraft, amazing pilot. Riding a fighter jet, I can just dream. And watching these videoes, dream continues 😂
I love the looks and sound of the F-104. I realize that you can't take a nap flying this one! It's not a Cessna150. My other favorite is the F-4 Phantom .Thanks for the ride.
Nice! Thanks! It looks small and it´s coming fast ;-)
I have a neighbor that I fly formation with pretty regularly.. we are just up the road from KSC in Spruce Creek. He flew F-104s back in the day and talks regularly about it. He was sent to Germany when they were experiencing high loss rates to start and teach Fighter Weapons School to get their losses more in line.. He always says.. 35,000’ & 750kts = Mach 1.0. I’d love to get a little stick time in that thing…
Madonna mia....godi come un canguro vietnamita!!!!! I parametri motore si vedono bene... stupendo video.magari a farne ancora tanti. Un 104 in volo nn si vede più. Grazie e saluti da Roma.
My favorite military aircraft period!
Imagine living there and hearing the howl of the F-104 when its overhead 😇
What a rocketship
It’s called a “short field runway” for the F-104 Starfighter!😁
“Flaps up at 320 kts”……holy hot rod!
Question: How does a 7500 foot runway look to an F-104? Answer: Too short!
I think I'd like the Lake Bed at Edwards. That's one fast airplane.
That's MD-11 speeds this thing lands at, and the MD-11 amongst airliners was also notorious for high takeoff and landing speeds
@@nerd2814 Somewhere I read that for runways less than 9000 feet, a drag chute was required!
@@nerd2814 MD-11 muuuuch slower.
Mitico Spillone ! Emozione pura vederlo in volo !!
I didn't know any 104s were still flying. When I was a kid, when one would fly over my house, it would take me a minute or two to remember to start breathing again!
I would like to accompany you on such a flight in the back seat. It has always been my dream.
Very nice video!! Grazie Piercarlo!!!
My father , an Air Force Captain in Tactical Air Command , was in an F-104 chasing a UFO that was spotted on radar in the 1960’s .
He finally got a look at it he said it was huge ! Other jets were sent to help but did not get there in time .
Ground control told him to shoot it down if he could not get it to land .
Before he could shoot a strange light came on and the Starfighter began to shake and he was not able to control the plane . It began to be pulled Toward the UFO!
Anyway that is all he remembers .
I went on to be a successful Astronaut that I am sure you have heard of as I headed the first Saturn probe mission .
They made a documentary about this called Tomorrow is Yesterday ……
Look it up as I can not put in a link .
Colonel Shawn Jeffery Christopher
I call Bravo Sierra.
@@michaelallen1396
Tomorrow is yesterday!
Grande Pier! Ciao!
I live right by here and I’ve worked on almost every airplane. There is how come I never see this thing flying.
Engine out dead stick landings must be VERY interesting in the 104. 😮
WoW Must say Piier your on the level of The Thunderburds and Blue Angles with a lot of ol school Bob Hoover too.
KTIX😍 Grande Pier!
Wonderful video! Grazie mille!
Answer: short.
So THAT'S what it feels like to be strapped to a rocket!
Cavolo quando si avvicina al suolo, si avverte che và davvero veloce in configurazione atterraggio . Il tempo di regolare la trust , qualche colpetto al trim e lo devi mettere giu' . Temo che la telecamere , filtri la percezione reale, cioè la velocità percepita in cockpit è ancora maggiore. Ci vuole manico x lo spillone. Complimenti al P.C. e grazie per l'esperienze che condividi.
Thst thing probably used more fuel in that go around than my car uses in a year, LOL. Love it!!
Incredible
My dad flew these in mid 60s
I guess flying IMC with this aircraft must be excruciating, exhausting, and a nightmare
Actually not, never had spatial D on this aircraft, very stable and it "gives you" lots of feedback.
Ayyyyy the Valiant Air Command 😃😃😃😃
Wow! Nerves of steel. This plane has higher takeoff and touchdown speeds than the SR 71.
That Was Nice! Thanks For No Jibber Jabber Or Crappy Music. Thank You. (Like #453 - Comment #64)
Un aereo fantastico! leggendario!
That’s so so cool
Thats frightening,I would need so much training
Sempre spettacolare. Un enorme peccato non voli più nessun 104 in Italia. Dalle parti del Monviso quando eri di servizio in Italia hai mai volato? Mi ricordo i 104 che arrivavano da Ghedi e poi passavano bassi in coppia vicino a Saluzzo. Mannaggia che nostalgia.
What a Hot Rod!
Be Cool, Stay Cool,
that thing is like flying a rocket!
‘Flaps up at 350kt’. I’ve never flown an aircraft that would even reach half that speed!
Video stupendo come sempre, complimenti.
Sorrido al pensiero di quanti suoi ex colleghi pagherebbero per un'altro ultimo volo sul 104 in barba alla quinta generazione🤣
Wow!
She's old but still badass. People look up when they hear it. When they see it they look for the cable holding it up because no way are those little wings supporting anything . . .
Very Nice
What a life!
Great flight as always Pier ! ... Was the afterburner ever used in this flight?
Very briefly on the go around....
You could have made that one, no problem!
Happy Landings 😊
Spent my last ten years Captain 777. Totally annihilated my love for flying. I made a well thought decision when I was younger and chose civil aviation, to my regret later in life. But hey things weren't that bad all those years! An operational question: Why do you approach lower? Very flat. And flaps up at 350kts. Damn thats fast!
Spettacolo 😊, peccato che in italia non esistono cose simili...Anche gli Amx che hanno ritirato da poco potrebbero essere usati così
He lands the jet (175) at the max speed of my Bonanza. Wow.