104 - F-104 Starfighter
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- čas přidán 13. 02. 2021
- The 'Century Series' speeds by with a discussion on the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, a mach 2-capable interceptor designed by the legendary Kelly Johnson. Former Canadian Armed Forces Captain Rob "Flecko" Fleck joins us to explore this distinctly shaped Cold War fighter with guest cohost Bruce Gordon adding his usual color to the discussion.
Listener questions answered on this episode include whether downing an unmanned aircraft constitutes an "aerial victory," why medical requirements differ between the U.S. Air Force and Navy, whether prior military experience is required to become an Air National Guard pilot, if technology renders obsolete second crew members in fighter jets, and more.
Episode artwork by Janek Krause. Bumper music by Jaime Lopez / announcements by Clint Bell. This episode was produced by our friends at the MuscleCar Place Podcast Network. - Věda a technologie
No disrespect to “fleck” but Bruce has the best stories. That man was really out there fighting all these century series birds. I really enjoy his parts on this series.
I'll say amen to that! Bruce is _Really_ great!
Bruce is a national treasure, he adds so much to theses episodes!
Agreed! Looking forward to episode 106...
@@FighterPilotPodcast Hey, Jell-O. I know I'm a little off-topic, here (my apologies), but in actual HUD footage, there is always a black box covering the witness cue when the trigger is pulled. Why is that?
@@DJones476 Usually the black box is the event marker denoting the moment the trigger was pulled / pickle button depressed. Helps for the debrief.
@@FighterPilotPodcast Thanks for taking the time to respond, Jell-O.
So, the black square _IS_ the event marker - it's not covering anything that is classified?
@@DJones476 Not unless it's there the entire time.
My father's favorite plane to fly in, as an aerial photographer, while stationed at Edwards AFB from 1967-69 (very shortly after separating from the US Army) was the F-104. He says that, surprisingly, there was more room for his cameras versus the T-33, T-37 and F-4 aircraft. He said the F-4 was downright cramped and the T-33 made it so he froze above the canopy line and sweated, profusely, below the canopy line.
One of his stories about flying in the F-104 was that during one flight they had gotten the two blinking red lights, signifying low fuel, and upon RTB they actually ran out of fuel on the runway. He mentioned that that was a fun flight.
Jello, we have 6 F104's flying at Kennedy Space Center here in Florida. Boy they really are screamers.
Yep, we talk about them on the show.
Are there still 6 though? Thought some had been retired?
@@ollyk22 6 of the 10 total are flying and one just got restored to flight the other day. They do provide instruction blocks if you're willing to pay the between 40-80k per flight hour that's required. Cool planes to see over head. You can't mistake the sound for another jet.
@@D0cJekyll I will buy some starfighter time one day. The only thing I am worried about is maximum upper leg length though. I am below the 6'3 but am 6'2 with longer than usual legs :-(
I think some of those are technically CF-104's
The sound of the F-104 when the rpm is below 95% is incredible.
I love the starfighter. I always associate it with Star Trek since it opens the episode “tomorrow is yesterday” as it intercepts the Enterprise as it appears over the Omaha installation as a UFO
Yes! And Also the fact that the Enterprise crew is a bit afraid of it, since Spock reminds them that NORAD fighters of that era often carried nuclear air to air missiles and Enterprise was low and slow enough to get hit at the time.
The cool thing with the F104 and its wing is that indeed, it produces hardly any lift at subsonic speeds. It also produces barely any drag at transonic and supersonic speeds, which is why it sustains turns well at those speeds as Bruce mentioned (and why it handles so well in low level attacks).
Good to know!
In regards to F-104 demo teams, we used to have ones in Canada as well, not just Europe. There were the Deadeye Zips (Alberta Arrows) which was a 3 aircraft demo team. There was also a really cool demo team that consisted of one CF-104 and one CF-101 that did formo aerobatics and solo maneuvers. The 70s was a great decade for air shows... so many different aircraft types doing lots of routines. Now we get one CF-18 demo which is still cool but I miss seeing all the other types.
Growing up, in Montreal, My Dad used to drive me up to Cariterville, and we'd watch the
F-104s and later the F-5 take off on test flights, from the Canadair Plant. Thank you for this.
I did enjoy hearing about the variants and technical details in most episodes but in the case of the f104 I already know most of this lol. Love the starfighter
There is no mistaking when one of these were coming at you. Nothing sounds like the F-104...
I was 10 when that wild mare called the F104 first spooked me deeply roaring immensely and shaking the ground n every bit us down there in my hometown and also the fact that one had recently crashed right into a populated area. Then again I admire that howling beast ever since
Building a 48th scale CF-104G by Ammo by Mig, it has options for 2 versions of the Canadian "Dart". It also includes Spanish, Italian, Turkey, Norway and Greece versions too. Any scale modeler's out there should scoop up one of these limited edition kits 😉
Revell or Monogram did one back in the 90s, but it was a 1:72 scale IIRC. I did mine up in RCAF markings.
@@GrizzAxxemann the one I am doing comes with some pretty sweet markings, including the 1981 "Tiger Meet" 🐅😀, 1975 OD green 421 squadron (Germany).
@@Kitzkrieg I had to do some Googling, but the Revell kit I did as a kid had the JaboG 33 Farewell decals, and the Tiger Meet decals as a bonus kit. Turns out a lot of the scale model kits that were of planes that Canada operated along side other countries would get bonus RCAF decals. My F-18s (A & B) came with USN, USMC, RAAF and RCAF decal sheets, the 104 came with German and Canadian markings (the plastic was yellow) and my F-5 came with a BUNCH of countries, too. I don't know if they came like that outside Canada, though.
The MiG kit is just a rebox of the Kinetic kit, so they're going to be easy to find in either boxing. I want to get one of the Kinetic kits, but in the meantime, I have built a handful of the Hasegawa kits.
First saw the starfighter in the movie 'The Right Stuff' fell in love with it!
Fell in love with Barbara Hershey. The 104 was great too.
Fuckin' aye bubba
Well said m8!
Hey Jello, great episode as always. Keep up the great work, bud.
Thanks for another great episode. I just found the channel recently and it is great that there are already so many episodes I can binge!
Hope you enjoy the journey. Video shows up around episode 155.
Thanks for another great show. I wish I could hear about the Sparrow capable S model. Someday, you will run into someone from Europe who used to fly the version. Fingers crossed.
That variant specifically had a bit of a mixed career. On the one hand, when it came out the 104 was still very much in its prime, and the S was the most capable of them all. On the other, it was kept in service for so long that the period between the end of the Cold War and the introduction of the Typhoon is jokingly referred to as "the crossing of the desert" in the Italian Air Force.
As a little kid building a -104 model I wrestled with wing tip tanks or Sidewinders!
Years later at an airshow I was stunned to be able to look down on the wing tip of a CF-104
it was so small and low to the ground. It was a Hot Rod!
I saw Italian F-104s at Brindisi, Italy in early 1997. I was TDY there for the USAF FD.
Man I love to hear Bruce…. His knowledge is priceless
I swear this is the most aptly named plane in history...if they put it in Star Wars we'd still say 'How frickin cool is that....'!
I have been catching up with your podcasts for a time now thinking why you sound so familiar until I realized that I watched your aircrew interview couple years back and liked so much. Podcasts seemed to have come along quite well till then. They r fun n interesting, love listening to them, thanks for the nice job.
Thanks much!
I think the first time I ever saw a Starfighter was on Star Trek... :)
Bluejay 4 this is Blackjack we’re tracking you and the ufo...
Hmm...
i have a model kit of the f-104 from that episode. came with a mini enterprise model too lol.
@@FighterPilotPodcast Airplane buffs from my generation love this episode because of the F-104 and the pilots orange flight suit!
THANK GOD! LOVE THE SHOW!
🤩
My first episode, really good!
Welcome, Ron Jon. Hope you enjoy this one and many more.
Seems apt, comparing fighter pilots and accomplished musicians, practice, practice, and more practice! Great show guys👍
Thanks, Bill. 🤩
Leaving a comment for the algorithm. Gonna watch it later on.
Funny enough, “The Starfighters” is Episode 12 of Season 6 on Mystery Science Theater 3000. It is on here on CZcams if you want to check it out.
Lucky shot on my part!
I concur with this statement; I watched it.
Summer 1984, 4 Wing Baden-Soellingen, phase 2 engineering officer training on 441 Squadron's CF-104s - and a chance for this then-officer cadet to go backseat in a dual. Stunning. I distinctly remember not going below 450 knots for most of the mission, and staying (it seemed) mostly below 500 feet. Astonished by how these guys skimmed over hills, rolling and pulling into valleys, trees looking awfully close as I looked up through the canopy. About three weeks in I went over to 409 Squadron, newly arrived with the first CF-18s. The myriad differences in every regard represented an entirely new world. I was hoping Flecko would validate or repudiate my memory of single-use chaff with the CF-104... I recall being told that on start, 104 ground crew could place bundles in the air brake wells before signalling for them to be closed - apparently, the pilot could then use chaff once, by opening the air brakes. But then, I was very young, and naive...
32:35 he mistakenly mixed up the direction of nose wheel reaction between the single seat and the dual, single seaters retract fwd, and duals retract back, still a great interview, probably hadn't flown a 104 since the 80's so it's been awhile 👍
Was at Homestead AFB in 69 and got to see the last 6 months of F 104 there (319 FIS ) I worked in the F 4E engine shop, could look out the side door and see the F 104 were parked right there and so was there engine shop. Got to see alot of takeoffs that go vertical would stay vertical untill out of sight on a clear day. Every time one went vertical the sound would change, all of us would run out of the shop to watch. Try F 104 in Udorn RTAFB Thailand 66-67
Love that intro
🤩
One has to love the Sargfighter!
Captain Rob was so very articulate.
I was stationed in Germany and got to see the Canadian F-104 four ship demo at Rein-Main in 1983 unfortunately I also got to witness an ejection from an CF-104 as they went left to right airshow center one of them flamed out separated formation and you can guess the rest. It was unfortunate there was civilian casualties
That sucks.
Concerning vision requirements, I am assuming that the corneal thickness and keratometry limitations may be due to the effect refractive surgery PRK or LASIK has on the shape of the cornea. The thinner cornea could change shape easier at a higher altitude and change refractive error. For awhile the military only accepted PRK and not LASIK due to the concern that G forces could dislodge the corneal flap.
I’ll give my experience on the medical side. It really depends on timing. The various services have 80 years of medical experience in pilot selection. Some of the rules are just old rules that haven’t changed because they worked and the military medical board is conservative. During war time and periods of pilot shortages, these rules have not only been waived but often flat out ignored by the recruiters, and officers in charge of putting bodies into the cockpit. For example, I was turned down on my second physical for the Navy in 1993 due to negative curvature on my left eye even through I had 2020 vision. I was told by my Reserve commander this was due to the Navy announcement of (after the first gulf war ended) the reduction in carriers and carrier air wings. Also, the Navy was getting rid of A-6’s and a lot of F-14’s. Again, I was told the Navy was allowing many of the younger RIO’s and bombardier/navigator to apply for pilot slots.
Anyway, since then I have about 12,000 hours total flying for an airline. Sadly I was medically retired in 2011. Anyway while at the airlines, I flew with quite a few guys who were given the “upgrade” opportunity and went from RIO to pilot.
When I first got to an airline, many of the captains were Vietnam era pilots nearing the end of their careers. I can’t tell you how many times these men said they had less than perfect vision or a medical issue that was ignored completely because in the mid 60’s through the early 70’s the Military couldn’t find enough willing pilots. One of my favorite pilots was an F-4 / F-14 pilot. He was in college at Dayton Ohio. He had 20/30 vision and a C+ average GPA. Anyway one day he drove out to the airport and was studying while watching aircraft take off and land. A Navy officer recruiter walked up to him, knocked on the window of his car and said “Do you want to fly airplanes”. He said yes, but I don’t think I qualify……. Well, a little over two years later he was off the coast of Vietnam flying missions.
Same goes for FAA medicals. Over the years the rules change and it’s oftentimes due to an accident or a new FAA Chief medical examiner Ali g his mark.
I flew taking a medication for years that in 2009 was banned by an incoming Examiner from the Air Force. About 3% of first class medical were grounded due to this change. My doctors wrote letters explaining that I and other pilots could fly safely taking this drug to no avail. I fought it for a couple of years then took long term leave and disability. Basically the drug I need is also used for people with Parkinson’s disease in high dosages. Some of those folks documented sudden onset sleep issues and compulsive gambling behavior. Now I take a very very low dosage of the drug and have never had an issue. But the FAA won’t go back to its previous ruling.
My Grandpa flew the F-104S :D
If you don't count drone kills, then MiG-29 loses one of its 6 "kills". It also has unarmed Cessna kills piloted by relief aid workers.
Some of the F-15E kills against drones were armed Iranian drones that were targeting US SOF units in Syria, so that adds another level of consideration. Those drones put ordnance on or near US personnel for the first time in many decades since ordnance had been dropped on us by another aircraft.
I have always thought the F-104 was super cool. It looks high tech, but retro high tech, 1950s high tech, the way all high tech things were covered in shiny chrome back then, the F-104 is polished metal skin around a monster engine with a saddle up front for the pilot. Lockheed even calls it the "Starfighter", as if it wasn't badass enough! Given how the USAF hates all the official names of its aircraft today, I bet they didn't hate that one.
In the 70s when the Lightweight Fighter competition was on, the F-16, F-17 (later morphed into the F/A-18), and the F-20 TIgershark were the main competitors. I have read that Kelly Johnson wanted to design a new version of the Starfighter that would be able to win the competition as well, claiming he could build a Starfighter that could solve all the turning and range problems and so on, but for whatever reason he never got the chance. How I wish we could've got to see what he would've come up with.
You're thinking of the CL-1200-2 it based on the X-27 (which it itself was based on the CL-1200-1) and the reason it never left the drawing board was simply because it wasn't picked.
One of my dad's bosses at Edwards collected F-104s and F-86s for refurb/re-build in his very large back yard.
Darn, others have already mentioned the "Starfighters" movie and Star Trek episode. Ah well. Surprised the 104 pilot's Spurs didn't come up in convo. I also think you guys made a Guinness record for the number of times "Fast" and "Speed" were mentioned in the span of an hour.... Love the Starfighter, fascinating machine, demands respect. I'm still baffled to think the Italians were about to completely digitize their avionics and radar package on their 104s before switching to the Typhoon.
If you ever do a part 2 on the Starfighter, I strongly recommend you look up Laurie Hawn. He's a retired RCAF CF-104 pilot, one of the first to convert to the CF-18, and has a few great stories from his time in Germany.
Will do. 👍
Dan Dempsey as well. He was on the last CF-104 class in Canada.
Re F-104s in movies or TV, there's another common B-Roll of the F-104...If you ever watched "I Dream Of Jeannie" as a kid, you would have seen an F-104 rip in for a landing (When 'Master' Major Tony Nelson was on the hop somewhere LOL). That seemed to be "Master's" main ride LOL
Been waiting for this and the f-106 podcast for a long time (can't wait for the 106). The 104 is such an interesting plane. Was hoping to hear the pilot say that it has some tricks up it's sleave, or had some great attributes in air to air, but sounds like it was good for one pass and that's it.
Also, have to say, love gordon on podcasts. He's like that grandpa who has amazing stories, and he's just so enjoyable to hear his happy voice lol
Right? Bruce has been a Godsend and we've been scheming this for over a year now. Glad it worked out.
@@FighterPilotPodcast he's awesome. Saw him on youtube trying to learn tactics on dcs. Then on quora, and when I found he was on your podcast, I immediately played. Awesome episode!
@@hockey3761 😎👍
I'm planning for the F-106 podcast now - yes, the F-106 had some tricks up its sleeve! We were trained to attack bombers, but about 1967 we discovered that the F-106 was able to out-turn almost anyone, had long range, and good radar, with very reliable missiles. I out-maneuvered F-4s, and was faster than the F-4 in a race with full weapons and external tanks. We needed a gun, and the gun was added after I left the F-106 and went to Vietnam in F-100s. Going from the F-106 to the F-100 was a step back in time, but the F-100 had 4 20-mm cannons and a good bomb load, and was very good at ground attack. In my upcoming podcast, though, I will concentrate on air defense. That podcast is not the one to talk about dogfighting -- not enough time to cover everything!
@@spiritofattack thanks for the reply Gordon. Looking forward to it! :)
Hi Jell-O another awesome episode how come no one touched on the F-104 Howl? That noise is so distinct and amazing anyone that has been around them airplanes and heard them can identify and call it music to there ears. There are many videos on the F-104 Howl for people to check out would you please ask Bruce if it could be heard in the Cockpit? Thanks and Love the Show.....
Bruce did not fly the F-104 and Flecko did not bring it up so we missed it.
One of the best movies to see F-104 is an Italian TV series from 1990 and is called: Aquile.
It is available on CZcams but in very poor quality. The story revolves around bunch of guys starting at Pilot Academy and going the path to Starfighters and Tornadoes.
It is in Italian and looks like a lame Top Gun copy but the aerials are superb and the stories of the guys resemble real young pilots life.
Aquile was childish, but nice TV serial featuring Starfighters. It was made /at least the aerials/ from the same guy who made Blue Tornado.
czcams.com/video/NY2329_NLI0/video.html
The Starfighters movie was in fact on MST3K! Good Call out Jell-O
I suspect Jello was wondering if it was ever a 'real' movie, before it got the MST3K treatment. Of course, it was - 1964, and not very popular at all, which I guess is why nobody outside of MST3K fans have ever heard of it.
The F104 design was used as a loose basis for the U2. Also read the book Skunk works. 🧑🚀
Fun facts about the German Starfighter =
From 1960 to 1991 German Air force „Luftwaffe“ had 916 Starfighters in the inventory.
269 where lost in crashes and 116 Pilot's have been killed. It is the highest lost ratio for a military aircraft in peace times. To this date there is a debate in Germany why. No other country that used the F 104 had that much of a lost rate. By the way in Germany the Starfighter was called widowmaker or flying coffin.
The joke was if you wanted to have a Starfighter you need to buy 2 acres of land and wait 2 weeks till you get one. 2 weeks was more or less the time between the last and newest crash.
And the other fun stuff McGeorge Bundy Yes exactly the United States National Security Advisor to president Lyndon Johnson gived via Swiss embassy the next day Air attacks planing to the North Vietnamese. In other words the NVA knew exactly what target's gonna be bombed 24 hours in advance. No wonder the US lost rate was that big and hundreds of Pilot's died spent years as pow or disappeared as missing in action.
czcams.com/video/WX9EK_BG_Mc/video.html
told by a f105 pilot himself.
Canada had the highest loss ratio on the F-104 (46.21% 110 from 238 airframes). Luftwaffe total was around 29%. RAF 1st Generation Harrier (GR1. GR1A, T2, GR3, T4) loss ratio was more at 46.25% (72 airframes out of 147 (4 were combat losses so actual accident losses were 68)).
The F-104 was featured recently in Ace Combat 7.
I used to fly my Glasair 1 and also a Zlin with Col P.C. Davis, original test pilot on the F-104. Col Davis is now at Arlington.
Bruce kinda sounds like P.C.
Did anyone go into Max Zoom ?
Hey, Jell-O, you've gotta try and get Bob Wade (CF-18s) on here one of these days. He was the first westerner to fly the MiG-29 Fulcrum!
I know Bob....I can help make that happen!
@@yxeaviationphotog That's cool as hell!
@@yxeaviationphotog Hey, Colin, I noticed there's a decal set for the 1992 Tiger Meet CF-18, but there isn't one for the 1991 Tiger Meet. Are you going to design a decal set for the '91 439 CF-18?
@@DJones476 The jet with the '92 Tiger Meet markings was also at the '91 Tiger Meet. A company out of Calgary did a decal sheet for that jet. Not sure of you can get it anymore though.
@@yxeaviationphotog Well, the markings were slightly different; the name 'Canada' was all caps in '91, and the 'Armed Forces' lettering was still present on each side of the roundel in '91. The '91 jet was also BuNo 188769.
It's too bad those decals are so difficult to find these days. Thanks for the info, Colin!
Lets gooo keep them coming jello
I will, every 10 days! 😎
1:06:00-1:06:45
And it's things like that got the F-104 called the "widowmaker"(that and it killed a lot of german pilots in accidents)...
They flew a lot of low level in the Luftwaffe -104Gs. Terrain and wx in Europe can bite you. I think there was a higher mishap rate with Luftwaffe -104s, off the top of my head, but could be wrong.
A lot of 104 pilots hate that term. Apparently it was coined by the German media, after they lost a few aircraft.
@@yxeaviationphotog ahem!...a few hundred..
Crappy maintenance!
You should add links to other podcasts in your description. We can promote them also.
Like which ones?
@@FighterPilotPodcast The ones of the other gentlemen you mentioned to follow.
Listening on Spotify but commenting here:
This thing just looks fast. Like a rocket with wings, X15 anyone?
Hey no,w there is an idea Jello. How 'bout interviews talking about 'failed' X aircraft. X (or Y) designations that never went anywhere. Maybe not for everyone, but I'd sure find it interesting, surely there is some interesting engineering learnings to pour over in there somewhere.
Also another great 'cast. :)
An f104 was also in star trek as it was scrambled to intercept the enterprise
The landing speeds of aircraft from that era are startling.
Not really...120 KTS
Turbo Tarling (RCAF) would be a good guest for the T-33. Over 7500hrs on it.
Yowzers! Got any info on where to find him?
I have heard these were sketchy to fly. Interested to learn more about it.
Not really. Like any century series fighter you just had to know the limits. A blast to fly!
Sorry for the stupid question...but what are dangers disarming flown bombs?
Nothing particular, it’s just a whole lot easier for the ordnance personnel if the bomb racks are empty
What Do think the future of f104 launching small sat?
USAF sent 2ea rotations through CCK Taiwan TDY aftet Tonkin Gulf, and then sent a squadron to Udorn RTAFB July '67 (I was on that deployment)
How's this for a pop culture reference: There was a music album in the 70s that referenced the F-104: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Lockheed_and_the_Starfighters
Absolutely love Robert Calvert's stuff!
NASA flew several F-104’s as chase aircraft so the Zipper(nickname for the F-104) was usually a witness to aviation history during the 1960’s.
22:00 I keep hearing this thing the the 104 could not turn but who could back then?
I have most of the flight manuals of the planes of the era, including the flying graphs and what I find is that above 450kn the F104G turning performance matches the F4B/C/D/N, a plane which did quite a lot of combat and air to air dogfights without being deemed a sitting duck or unfit. As the speed goes down the F104 loses to the phantom, but as it goes up it gains, to the point that it litterally could turn circles around ANY phantom/mig/Mirage above Mach 1, whare it shone.
Energy retention was also described as fantastic, out-accelerating everything else before the teen serie became a thing.
It does not seems like a bad fighter in the hands of a capable pilot to me.
I grew up neas an F104 base and I remember those scrambles at night on full AB! I miss them!
That sounds about right in line with what Andy Bush tells in his stories you can find posted around the net. The F-104’s turn performance is often maligned out of context and underestimated.
CRV-7s were used by RAF/FAA Harriers I think
A Missile with wings.
'All that was missing was the B17.' And B24, B25, B26, B29, B32, B34, B36, B47, B57, and B58 (that sucker would have had no trouble keeping up!) :D
The thing about fighter jets of this age was that you didn't have the systems that you had in say,the F-35 or F-22.
It's like with jets like the F-104,you either knew what you were doing...or you died.
and then there's the fact you had to fly with nukes too...
Guys back then(Bruce,fleck,etc) had some brass balls,to say the least.
Yyesssss
Flight lieutenant Mike Hale took part in time to height and acceleration trials against the F104 Starfighter and reported that the Lightening won all the races easily except that for low level supersonic acceleration which was a dead heat .
Interesting .
Most likely at RAF Binbrook in April 1984. It wasn't a official Trial, but a bunch of Drag Races on Jets that were not that far off being removed from service. On all important factors like range, weapon loads, avionics (radar and nav system) and a host of other things the Starfighter blew the Lightning out of the park!!! AIM-9G was a much better missile than the Red Top.
i was doing a flight in an chesna 172 of of tatoi airbase in greece and where we we park our planes in the hangars there are striped down f104s and parts lying around like its garbage its really sad to see them rott
Does a drone count as a kill? That was a good question. It would be good to look up Frank Luke. He was a World War 1 ace famous for shooting observation balloons. If those were counted as kills, a drone might be, too?
Evidently balloons were not easy prey then, and were manned.
I'm guessing the F-111 will not be far off....? It will be awesome to hear a US perspective but I would love to also hear an Aussie perspective too. Could we have a 2 part F-111 special please?????
We'll see how the interview goes.
During Vietnam, Chinese MiG-19s shot down an F-104 when the pilot got too close to Hainan Island. The pilot spent the rest of the war in China as a prisoner. This mission is recreated in my Rolling Thunder campaign on Fighters Anthology with the usnraptor playset installed.
I did the investigation of the accident. He was trying to find a tanker out there alone in the Gulf. Hazy day. Some bad radar steers from the radar unit atop "Monkey Mountain" by Da Nang didn't help things. Compass went bad and he could not get to his magnetic compass. " OK then...there is land. Put it off my right shoulder and I will be flying back down the coast to Da Nang." Except it was Hainan Island and a MIG slipped in behind him and got him with a missile. Solitary confinement for years! Could hardly speak English when he got home. Wife abandoned him. So sad. Morris B. Parker III
@@brownieparker3782 Interesting read. Thanks for the info.
German media might have loved to hate the aircraft, and so too most of its pilots. But it cannot be said that the F-104 did not fulfill practically every requirement laid down. It's about as hated as the Brewster Buffalo, and both aircraft have this achievement in common -- say what you will, but they did what they were designed and intended to do within the bounds of contemporary technology.
Also, it's kinda sexy. Sexiness counts for a lot. There's something about the way an aircraft looks that can generally inform you on how it can be expected to perform . The F-104 _looks_ fast and _is_ fast. It's no F-5E Tiger II, but dammit I want one all the same!
The F-104 can be "flown" in Jane's Fighters Anthology, even better with the usnraptor playset and Baltic 1976 campaign installed at no cost. Just google search 'usnraptor'.
Jello, I watched Frankenstein Meets The Space Alien (1956) last night (don't ask me why). Towards the end of the film, the US General gives the order to scramble. The pilots scramble to the cars. What a nice assortment of aircraft shown taxiing, airborne, and taking off: F100, 102, 104, 86 as well as some Army helicopters. The F100s make a few passes launching rockets. There is a huge flyby of I think F-100s, probably 12-14 of them.
Anyway, dumb movie but really nice surprise of American aircraft at the end.
👻 🎃 Take care.
Excellent! Will have to check it out...
Jello, Will you make a episode of a Su-27 and it's newer development variants ?
Sure. You got a suitable guest?
the number of likes on this video needs to stay Niceeee.
Ah yes, the good old widow maker :D I saw some still flying on the dogfight training center on Sardinia in the med
The single seat nose gear went forward. The nose gear of the TF went aft......
37:00 ive noticed the MIG-21 LOVES to fly fast (at least in DCS flight sim)
.
a lot of new people i teach in DCS..... they will try to counter all the little wiggles and stuff the 21 does at low speed
i always tell people "just let it wobble threw the sky..... just let it wobble and wiggle"
and then it "clicks"
.
i dont fly helicopters in DCS..... but im told its sorta the same idea
if you correct for every little "oscillation"..... your going to get into a "pilot induced oscillation" and crash
.
now you get that mig 21 up to 0.9+ mach..... and she flys like an arrow
VERY tight!!!!
.
same with the F-14..... all that adverse yaw goes away when its flying fast
its not quite the same "arrow like" of the MIG-21.....but the 14 does "tighten up" at speed
.
.
but ya.... you go from having the nose wobble up and down 10 to 15 degrees at 300 kmph
to being able to fly it "on the edge" at mach 1.1
.
these "old' fighters were designed to be flown FAST! very fast!!!!!
and didnt like going slow.... except in a straight line
.
and if you tried to stop the wobbles..... ya crashed
that 10 degree "up / down" would turn into 15 degrees.... 20 degrees..... and then ya better just let go of the stick
otherwise..... ya get into +30 AND -30 pitches.... and your going to over AOA then thing, stall, and die
.
but.... again... at 0,9 and higher..... its like having infinite grip on a race car
best way i can describe it is "it tightens up".... and flys like an arrow
.
.
.
and this is only in DCS flight sim (which is DAMN realistic.... and has amazingly detailed flight models)
and id LOVE to fly a mig 21 in real life.....
but even if i got my pilots license, and flew 10,000 hours in the military.... and 30,000 in commercial / civ......
i probably would still not get EVEN A 10% chance to fly a 21
.
the 21 is my all time favorite jet
.
stick a better radar.... a modern RWR..... and missiles that go 10 miles... VS 4 miles
and ill be top dog on the multi player servers!
heck.... even just a RWR with more than 4 LED lights that basically say "your screwed...kiss your ass goodbye".... and i could out fly just about anyone in DCS in the 21
in the manual for the MIG-21..... "in case of engine fire.... immediately eject"
.
like.... "oh... ok i guess"
.
then you read up on the A-10c and its like "do this, that, or this and that..... and then try this.... then try to restart engine"
like... it never says to eject due to an engine fire
.
and ya.... the engines on the A10 are mounted back their.... and up high.....
so you can basically just let them burn themselves out (if the fire handle doesnt put it out)
.
while in the 104 and mig 21.... your sitting on the engine.....
its probably going to get a little warm on your "hotdog"......
.
leg on fire..... meh, i have two
"hotdog" on fire.... EJECT EJECT EJECT!!!!!!
Imma have to circle back to that one.
Sorry, been hearing that so much lately it popped out to me like a sore thumb the minute I heard you say it. @6:50ish. Nothing bad, just joking around.
Ok.
the F 104 sounded like blowing on a coke bottle as it slowed down . a beautiful sound spent too much time looking out the window in my elementary school
Hey i just saw your "Call Signs" video and was curious to know if you spare new women (nuggets) in your fighter pilot family over call signs or they also go through the same grilling .
Everyone who plays the game is subject to the same rules.
Indeed. I've seen female callsigns like 'Guns', 'Jugs', 'Revlon', 'IRIS' (I Require Intense Supervision), etc.
Kind of on the same tangent.....the USAF is apparently going to mandate "PC" callsigns. Also being looked at here in Canada as well. Kind of disappointing to see where this is going.
@@yxeaviationphotog Symptomatic of society in general.
@@yxeaviationphotog Aw, JESUS _CHRIST!_ I sure hope you're wrong, Colin...
I don't think we can talk about it's adaption without also mentioning the bribery scandal around the selection process. It can be argued that this craft wouldn't have seen such wide adaption if it weren't for the bribery scandal. The plane wasn't imagined for ground strike, it's imagined use was intercepting high-altitude bombers. Doesn't really do a2a against other jet fighters for the mentioned issues of agility and nimbleness.
It's an awesome aircraft for it's intended role, but I doubt this aircraft wouldn't gotten so much adaption without the scandal. Once nato countries bought into the aircraft, there were sorta stuck with it. It's just too niche of an aircraft to really widely adapt for multi role task, and I think the "lawn dart" and "widow maker" monikers it has gained is a testament to that.
The F-104 captivated many a young boys imagination. It looked like Mach 10 just sitting on the ground and one of the prettiest birds in flight. Reminded me of a hummingbird...only without the maneuverability of one. But I thought the F-106 was the fastest single engine jet fighter built. Yet Bruce is here saying that the 104 was pulling over 200 kts. faster on him. So which is really faster?....I always thought it was the 104 but the speed record is held by a 106.
Damn Bruce talking about his friends in the F105 was sad. Thud pilots went through hell and didnt get any honor back home for it..
The Zipper.
"C...R...V..7"... He's human until he says that name... LOL. Super interesting.
I built a model of the F104 when I was a child in the late 1960s. One of many of my favorite planes. USAF made a bad decision on this plane. It actually scared the Russians.
10:36 Phrasing
Explain.
@@FighterPilotPodcast he means sexually.
@@superskullmaster explain more.
@@FighterPilotPodcast it's a whole deal from the TV show 'Archer'. Its pretty funny.
@@FighterPilotPodcast you said “sometimes it’s good to have someone in the back”. No homo.
While I got you, I’m kind of disappointed that you guys didn’t talk about the sound of the 104 and why it sounded that way.
I killed 5 mosquitoes on a hot humid day while I was flying my Cessna 172 , that is why I am an Ace with five air-to-air kills.
🤔
😂 good one... wonder if it could be the case if mosquitos were trained enemy spies..hmm
During WW2 shooting down a v-1 wasn't considered a kill.
Good to know.
Spain 😁
I know you try to time limit these things, but I hope when Bruce is on as a guest you can find the space to just let him go, I can listen to him talk all day long!
You do know he has his own CZcams channel...
@@FighterPilotPodcast I know, I sub'd to it a long time ago and begged him to contact you!
thanks yt algorithm you did an awesome job...
BUT NOT AS GOOD AS THIS GUYS!