Dad flew the F-104. He loved it! Only the best got to fly it and you had to be on your toes at all times. I flew the F-4 and F-16. Both dad and I flew for the airlines and had great careers. I miss dad very much. I was literally born a fighter pilot. It was in the blood.
Great film to preserve the history and era of the F104 and the US Air Force. I always thought the late 50s and early 60s was the pinnacle of the greatness of our country.
All this plus nuclear submarines, satellites, computer research, a modern highway system…It's amazing the investments this country could afford to make when Ike was taxing the top incomes at a rate of 89%…
And you are right. Just think that the United States were able to launch the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs and land on the Moon _while at the same time they were fighting the Vietnam War._ To me this is nothing less than formidable. Greetings from Portugal! 😀 🇵🇹
@@jlwilliams.... I'm pretty sure that nobody paid the top tax rate as it could be reduced by investing in the countries future so the very rich had two choices, either invest in companies or corporations for the countries improvement and future then pay normal tax or pay the high rate and most chose the first option
I see what you did there. 😆 My Dad and I were both USAF. I miss him. (F-104 w/o the wing tanks was my fav jet of all time,,, until the YF-23 came along)
No joke. The first series had an ejection seat shooting you down, not up. That solved the problem of hitting the tail. These planes still had technical problems. Example, the engine nozzle was not reliable. A number of planes got it stuck. Think about it. Suddenly the engine delivers hardly any power, that means, you are going down fast. If you can't make it to a runway, you are gonna jump out. Just because an hydraulic pump is failing. Such things really should be extremely rare, except it wasn't. That is why pilots prefer a two engined plane, if one engine quits this way (no fire) you fly home on the second engine. Single engine planes ALWAYS have a very very reliable engine. Those Starfighters should have been tested a year longer, at least. Pilots loved them, because a Starfighter taking a couple of air-to-air missiles had not that much weight and a hell of a lot of power. That is great. But what happens when you load these planes to the max? Then you fall right into your grave, if you do not fly it fast enough. You can not do tight corners anymore. You MUST go horribly fast. Sounds stupid, this means making a tiny mistake gets a pilot killed. Sure that applies to more fighter jets, but there are planes that are more foregiving, Starfighter was extreme. Still, pilots loved it.
Whether you think it's a good movie or a bad movie is purely subjective. As an Air Force veteran and a lifetime aviation enthusiast, I love movies like this. This one happens to feature one of my favorite aircraft. Several years ago I was fortunate enough to attend an air show where three F-104 Starfighters put on a very cool show. I would love to see them again, but I believe they quit flying and are now leasing their jets to NASA.
As a child I lived in SoCal in 64-66. Even from my perspective (which included viewing nighttime rockets tests at rocketdyne!) it was a pretty amazing time even for a four year old! I was hip to all the jive . But could you imagine being an F104 pilot, socal, convertible, everybody drank and smoked, skinny ties, skinny people, all rowing in the same direction. And the nookie was neck deep for these pilots I'm sure. I say, scream, "Hallelujah!".
One of the most beautiful aircraft made. In 1969 I was a T-37 crew chief at Perrin AFB and one morning while at the end of the flightline four F-104s from Webb AFB taxied by....wow, what sight. As they passed we T-37 crew chiefs all pointed up hoping for a vertical takeoff. The pilots all laughed and waved and to our surprise and delight.....they did ! I went on to crew F-4s and saw several of the world's best flight demonstration teams but seeing those F-104s going straight up was incredible :)
It was about the only thing they did really well... CLIMBING! 😀 A friend of mine was a T-37C Crew Chief too, but in the Portuguese Air Force. He too loved the F-104 but was well acquainted with the G - we had an Air Base loaned to the _Luftwaffe_ in Southern Portugal back then - and used to speak at length about all the aircraft's shortcomings, unnaceptably high wing load and other mistakes made. And he sure knew what he was talking about!
I worked at PAFB in 1969. Loved to play golf there. I'm originally from Sherman. I think Colonel Hardy was wing commander, and Colonel Bray was base commander.
I was raised in an Air Force family. We lived several years at Randolph. As an Air Force brat, and airplane nut, I hung out along the flight line whenever I could. Joined the Navy out of high school and for six years flew as crewman on EC-121M, EP-3E, EA-3B, C-1A, US-2B, SH-2F and SH-3G. I remember the F-104 as being a very hot; but dangerous aircraft.
I was not a flying officer, such as these fighter pilots in TAC, but was in SAc, 1969 to 1973, at end of the Vietnam War. At the time of this film I was a freshman in college in Air Force ROTC, graduating in 1968. So this film is interesting to watch.
The best damn opening of a movie ever! I saw one of these F-104 aircraft on display outside near Dallas along with the F-105 Thunderchief. Beautiful planes that looked more like rockets with little wing area.
Me too! Just what I was looking for. While watching it I could almost taste those cheeseburgers and french fries served at the NCO Clubs at Travis and Hickam when my step-dad took me with him to pickup his buddies coming home from serving overseas. I despised mystery science... whatever thousand = Disrespectful, defacing jerks.
It was something back then. But the 104 had a nick that I personally saw as a child in the 60's in Denmark. The widowmaker. On that occasion, he managed to pull out of it unscathed, but everybody knew something had happened yet again with the widowmaker. I saw him maintaining level flight while passing over the suburbs I lived in, and then, out of nowhere, the plane started a continuous, clearly uncontrolled even to a child like me, barrel role across the sky. I expected his wings to come off right quick, because that was the only time I ever saw them flapping like a bird wing. Not litterally of course, but even with the speed he rolled it was clear that the wingtips were moving up and down, lateral to the fuselage. And that was actually what told me that it was uncontrolled and way out of design limits. Because even a kid like me with no science stuff in my backpack yet knew that with the short length they had, they were not supposed to move visibly like that at a distance view of about a 1000 to 1300 yards and about 1500 to 2000 feet up (altitude mentioned in the news). So that's why I though he was gong to loose the wings and go straight down. We later heard in the news that he landed safely back at base and the 104 was back in business in just a couple of days and that the cause was determined to be a malfunctioning control surface (not specified) on the starboard wing, though we never found out if it was an unforeseen tech glitch or poor maintenance. But that is also the time I personally realized why they were called widowmakers. I never really liked the type after that. It was a scary sight to see for a 7 year old kid. My favorite type in the RDAF was the F-35 SAAB Draken. It was a beauty to look at in and of herself, and it was constantly underestimated by both NATO and Warsaw pact opponents during it's service with us, creating quite a few embarrasments for USAF and Sovjet pilots over time.
I flew submarines in the Navy instead of jets because of my not perfect eyesight, but have always been a plane nut. My favorite two cold war era jets still are the Lockheed F-104 and the Vought F-8 Crusader. Like typical Airforce, there were a lot of glamour-shots in this film.
The Crusader was a beauty. As a student from the French School, I was allowed to seat on one from the _Aeronavale_ when I was 13, in the Carrier Clemenceau in Lisbon Harbour in 1979. Huge, magnificent aircraft! 😀
I was enlisted and in a Navy aviation squadron permanently land based at N.A.S., Norfolk, Va., in the early 70's. We went on a lot of TDY to other bases for war exercises. I was a Plane Captain for our big A-3 Skywarriors. One day, I was out at the fuel pits, which were right off the runway, waiting for our planes to come back from exercises. A 104 was taxiing by, heading for the parking area. Compared to our A-3's, which were the largest Navy plane to ever deploy aboard a carrier, this 104 was tiny. It was still bright & shiny and great looking.
When I was in U.S.A.F.E. in the 70's. Germans, Italians, and Dutch, flew F1047G's. They were always a site to behold when they took off. Always seemed to have some N.A.T.O. F104's around. You just can't forget the sound of that GEJ79-19 in afterburner.
I was with the 626 Tactical Control Flight (Mobile Radar) USAFE in Bremerhaven northern Germany 1979-81 and watched German F-104s doing touch and goes at Luftwaffenstützpunkt der Marine, Navy Air Base, Cuxhaven. So much fun to watch.
It was the most useless aircraft really. The USAF did not like it. The engine was not good, at high alpha, not enough air could get into the intakes causin flame outs, usually on final, the first versions had the wonderful ejector seat that went out through the bottom. So then along came the Lockheed scandals where, the jets the USAF did not want were sold with huge bribes to the German defence minister, the King of Holland and it was called the widow maker because it was sold as an IDS which it totally useless at. Only the Italians tamed it. Out of 1500 sold to Europe, 45% crashed.
@@jimwalsh8520 I always thought they were a death trap. Never liked a aircraft that didn't have a 0/0 ejection system. I worked on the flightline, and all we ever had were N.A.T.O tourist's everyday. Got to see them all. Still was a sight to behold.
I was stationed at George AFB flying Wild Weasels. Kind of cool to see footage of the base in the '60s. The high desert was one of the most beautiful flying in the country.
Check out 3:44 when 'Cordite 4" is talking with his wing boss and the picture clearly shows the left front windscreen partially missing with a jagged edge. It's shown multiple times through out the sequence. I guess they really want us to not pay TOO close attention. That said this was a great chance to see the F-104 in flight. It's fun to watch these old movies, even if it is pretty cheesy.
I don't remember seeing this movie as a kid. Dorky back story, but 1st rate plane pix. I didn't realize the 1st operational squadron was based at Hamilton AFB in February 1958. I was born on base in 1953 and grew up in Novato. I can remember hearing sonic booms and seeing the occasional high, speed low altitude pass. I heard there was a system to lock your flight boots into the seat frame prior to ejection. The 1st seats ejected downward and later models upward. Must have been a hell of a ride.
Yep, I saw it in the theater when I was nine years old. I only remember one scene, where a pilot demonstrates how thin the wing is by splitting a piece of paper in half on the leading edge.
I was 9 in '67 on a boy scout outing at Wright Patterson AFB. Went through the museum don't remember if they had the F104 then but when I got to the gift shop something made me buy the model kit. I thought that was the coolest looking jet in the world. Then came the F4 Phantom.
Na, Harry Morgan looked old in the 60's Remember he was on Dragnet as Joe Friday's sidekick starting in 1967 and this movie is 1964. He looked almost as old on Dragnet as he did on MASH,. He would have been almost 50 when this movie was made.
And George AFB , now known as Victorville Airport, is STILL out in the middle of Bumfuck, Nowhere (Victorville, CA). I never flew in there while in the USAF, but I flew in there with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department on search and rescue missions with Army Blackhawks (for refueling only). The ONLY thing open besides flight ops was the snack bar at the old bowling alley. But there was a surreal feeling about walking around what's left of the old airbase. And what little still remains was right out of this movie. Hard to believe that you're only 30 miles away from The Inland Empire and the eastern edge of the 19 million population strong Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.
I lived there in the early 60s as a child, we lived in Victorville and my father flew out of George AFB. I loved going onto the base during the summer playing in the hangers. Playing Pilot in my dad's jet. I still have the 104 Starfighter pins, patches, and models. And the family photos from Arm Forces Days with the jets lined up on the tarmac. I loved it when my brothers and I were out playing and the 104s went ripping overhead, waving as if our dad could see us below!
I worked as a military ATC in the 70's. Whenever a 104 or 06 entered the pattern, everybody else had to move over because their landing speeds were so high. Those stubby short wings do not offer much lift. Working a flight of 3 was a real handful.
I remember reading that it had a system that blew engine air over the flaps to increase lift - which made it incredibly difficult to land if the nozzles were blocked for some reason. Especially if only one side was blocked. And if the engine failed at altitude the pilots were ordered to eject and not attempt to glide to a landing.
Thanks for posting this movie. This was my first time watching it. It wasn't very exciting but it did bring back memories. I went in the USAF in 1971 and retired in 2001. At various times during my 30 years I was assigned to SAC, USAFSS, MAC, USAFE, AFSC, AFMC, AMC, and AFSPC. If you like this kind of stuff, consider checking out some of the Steve Canyon UA-cam videos.
The acting was laughable, the music pure punishment. The flight footage and the "F-104 howl" were more than worth it. The scenes at George AFB were also pretty good. BTW Chuck Yearger was wing commander there at about that time for real.
There is nothing like the whooing sound of the Starfighter.... As a kid going to airshows here in Canada, you knew when the Starfighters were firing up their J-79's even before you saw them taxi for take off. We had for many years a 4 ship CF-104 Starfighter demo team.. they were awesome to watch at airshows.
Man, did they name this movie right. Almost a Lockheed commercial with symphonic background music. I never saw it as a kid. If I had, I would have loved it.
In 1983 I was in Canada at Cold Lake when I was in the US Marines. We did a joint exercise and they flew the Starfighter. They called it the widow maker
They had an exercise at Cold Lake called Maple Flag. I once got in a low level drag race with a Candian F-104 with my RF-4C....pretty much stayed even with him.
I grew up in the USAF, my Dad was NCOIC of Refueling Maintenance and Special Purpose Vehicles. Was a military brat from 1947-1962. Then did my time in the Army. 2 Tours behind the IRON CURTAIN Berlin USCOB/ASB, British HQ's Olympia Stadium, 1966-1968; 1 Tour DaNang VIETNAM, 1968-1969. Then 11 years as a Navy ASW Weapons Systems Data Analyst in the Caribbean Basin. Finally got back to the Air Force as Radar Signature Data Analyst at the Air Force Technical Applications Laboratory, Patrick, AFB Florida, now Space Force Base. The Germans really loved the F-104s, the pilots treated them like they were their own little babies.
The Kaman Huskie at 1:00:45 was an interesting aircraft. The synchropter system was, unlike almost all other helicopter rotor systems, very stable in a hover. Unfortunately, the tips dipped at the sides and killed several people and I believe that was the main reason they went out of service.
It's a B at best, but I like it. I entered the Air Force in 76, during interesting time, Air Force was still downsizing post Nam and changes, lots of changes. I regret I didn't stay, by 38 I could have retired, then by 58 retired from my 2nd career, law enforcement, with 2 incomes and loads of benefits. My grandsons followed me by joining up, just not A.F. They followed my dad, the Corps He had been a WW 2 vet of the Pacific, Silver Star, Bronze Stat, 3 P.H.s
I know there were some issues with these planes but boy they are something else in terms of the visuals and the performance, this fighter jet is a young boys dream, just the look of these jets must have increased recruitment into the air services no end!
Yup, nearly a 1/3 of the Luftwaffe F-104 fleet lost to accidents: "The Germans lost 292 of 916 aircraft and 116 pilots from 1961 to 1989, its high accident rate earning it the nickname "the Widowmaker" from the German public." (wiki)
There used to be a joke going around when I served in West Germany with the RAF “How do you get a Starfighter, buy a German farm and just wait, one’ll crash there eventually”.
@@mrjockt Black humour at its morbid best lol IIRC The German F-104G variant had a Martin-Baker seat. The early Starfighters had an ejector seat that exited via the floor!
What the hell was a starfighter doing strafing? It is an interceptor. Not even close to its designed role. Low maneuverability for that. Good way to lawn dart.
I believe the KC-135a tanker is out of McDill AFB Florida. Very few tankers had hose and drogue booms. Was stationed at Wurtsmith AFB 1981-82, March AFB Riverside California from November 1982 to January 1990. Fairchild AFB January 1990 till retirement 1996. Been around tankers for a long time.
Flew Space-A on one out of Tinker about 6-7 years ago. They got that dude up in the Class A and punched it. What they briefed as a 9.5 hour flight was barely 7. 'Course the difference between then and now was the high bypass turbofan engines and the retrofit so that the flight engineer station was a desk. My daughter, who was taking lessons in a Cessna at the time got invited into the cockpit and later they parked her in the boomer's pod.
@@spokanetomcat1 Man what a view that had to have been! In my daughter's case I'm not sure she would've been retrieved they were so casual about it. She said that, as she was taking pictures of the pacific, she accidently kicked the ejection button that they had showed her and it scared her. I explained later that it would have been pinned unless there was a refueling mission involved. As it was we had a couple of crated engines and one family brought a padded picnic blanket and played Uno most of the way. That crew was awesome.
@@spokanetomcat1 I deployed to Maron AB Spain from Eaker AFB Arkansas during Operation Desert Shield aboard one of our KC-135s. As soon as it was safe to move about, three guys claimed the boom pod, and went to sleep. The rest of us had to contend with troop seats. Also I watched a ground crew change a KC-135's "SAC" probe for a "TAC/NATO/USN" drogue at Clark AB Philippines some time while I was there 1988-90.
Dig the early 1960s music and vibe. Always has that ethereal feeling to it. Sounds like Percy Faith and his orchestra. Winds 2 gusty to 30!. That's quite a spread between the steady state and the gust. Must have been a turbulent ride.
Starfighters had the worst records for crashing, although they looked so totally fantastic in their silver skin. One "Star"figther was even featured in the "Star"Trek original series due to its impressively handsome, manly looks
They remind my of the all female ‘Angels Sqn’ from the tv series “captain scarlet” by master puppeteers Gerry Anderson and Sylvia, it was a big hit in the United Kingdom, don’t know about the rest of the western world, and alongside ‘Thunderbirds’ and ‘Joe90’ they were a big part of my growing up in the 60s and early 70s.
Only the German and Italian airforce had issues( Italy fixed theirs by enlarging the tail and wings) and that was due to conversion from the F86 and F84 to this hotrod. Pakistan and Taiwan had no issues,engaging Migs in combat and had adequate training from scratch on the 104 so all of the issues the other countries had was down to training and experience. A comparison was done by the USAF on safety and accidents of century series (F100-106) and found that the Starfighter was better than the 101,105 and 102 with the 106 having the best followed by the 100. Context matters and in the USAF heavy lobbying for the F4 hard started so the Starfighter was discredited by the upper command,added to the fact that the role it was designed for was changed to long range interception with missiles therefore not very useful for bomber interception.
@@rodneypayne4827 glad you mention Germany, since they lost more pilots to this uber-handsome plane than anyone else. One even suffocated the pilot and then flew on on its own all the way to Norway before crashing.
At an airshow in England in 1979, I saw a pair of West German 104s do a high-speed head-on near miss (on purpose) with a lateral separation of about 100 feet. Pretty adrenaline-generating...
I really enjoyed this movie, a great historical account of the F-104, in my opinion, with necessary "love scenes" thrown in to make it more than just a documentary. :^) I'm really glad that they made some movies like this or most people would have no real knowledge of the aircraft in mention. I especially enjoyed the aerial re-fueling scenes .. How the times have changed since this movie was made! Those were definitely better days, now that a person looks back! Thanks for sharing this video ..
This was the era of "speed". Todays' jets are slower than those jets. Experience has proven maneuverability is lost with speed. One needs (just a bit slower speed) to fight and not turn so widely. But, those jets were sleek and they did serve as very good interceptors.
The F-15 is faster and more maneuverable than the F-104, I've seen it in person while serving in the USAF & stationed at a Turkish AB with F-104s assigned to it. We had a GA. ANG unit fly in with F-15s, and one afternoon I sat out side the all ranks club watching the F-104s & F-15s do touch and goes. The F-15 would pull up, & turn, the F-104 would pull, pull, pull up, then turn, turn, turn some more. The F-15 made two passes in the touch and go before the F-104 made it back for the first time.
The star of this movie was designed by Kelly Johnson. The people were just props. This is an Airforce recruitment movie. See? Even your grandparents Hollywood had an agenda. I love the F-104 though. The movie got the engine sound right. Cut out the cardboard acting, it would be worth watching again.
I had the feeling through most of it that it was not for public viewing when made. Too much info on what things were and how they worked and so on. More like a "less boring" training film than an entertainment film.
I appreciated the strong message in this film about making way for the next generation of American leaders. The new 104 pilot whose dad was trying to steer and even babysit him into his new career. This father, who was an "Operation Tidal Wave" member, which made him nothing less than a secular saint in the postwar aviation community was nevertheless way out of line in meddling in his sons future. The statement of; "Under a great tree, nothing grows" was very evident in this case. Fortunately, the entire chain of command within the 104 unit did all they could in protecting the interests of their young protege from his father's concerns. Rightly so, they empowered him to sow his own career seeds in this new field of aviation. From a former aircraft mechanic that spent 2 years on the CF 104 in the mid 1980s, I enjoyed immensely my walks in that forest of the jet age that they all helped to create.
I've not seen this film before but I believe this the "Top Gun" of it's time. Beautiful jet, flies like a dream at high speed, but stalls like a brick. Further, due to its stubby wings, it doesnt tolerate crosswinds or vortex very well.
THEY HAVE ONE YOU CAN FLY IN THE PS-2 GAME AERO-ELIET!!! IT ALSO HAS AN F-4 & F-86;---UNLIKE THE HEAVY F-4;---THE F-104 IS BASELY UN-CONTROLABLE BELOW 200M.P.H.& YOU MUST TOUCH WHEELS AROUND 179 TO PROTECT THE LANDNG GEAR!!!!; THE F-4 PREMITS (some) LINE-UP AT 189; & LANDS SWEETLY--166--170!!!!
@@genewalter5022 I JUST GOTTA ASK;----DO YOUR KIDS KNOW WHAT A SPECIAL-AIRMAN YOU ARE????;--I MEAN; COME ON ; YOU WORKED ON A BASE WITH---A STAR-BOMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I remember reading about Eric Hartman when he was released from the Russians . He became head of the West German Air Force. He campaigned against the adoption of the 104's saying they were too hot for the German pilots. Many crashed ! Chuck Yeager flew one setting an altitude record . It was when he had a problem and bailed out with his helmet on fire resulting in facial burns.
I remember a lot of Pilot Error accidents in 104's being flown in Germany, in the lat 50's. They'd get disoriented in Fog & Clouds. Go inverted, and _pull up_ straight into the ground in the Rhine Valley.
For a while(years), there were frequent sonic booms produced by 104’s. And several times, I saw a tiny bright dot leaving the tip of a 104. It was 60’s in Taiwan.
I remember as a kid playing outside or working dad's rigerus dawn to dusk gardening detail, hearing sonic boom's a lot. Why did they stop, was they causing damage to the atmosphere or was it people complaining?
@@kennyspaulding796 I think it was partially because the situation across Taiwan straight ease down a bit. Besides, the commies in China were a little busy over Vietnam at that time might be the cause as well.
I didn't know the thing could slow down enough to be refueled in-air. I didn't fly them, but the F104G I knew was really a rocket with 7-foot fins euphemistically called "wings." Landing it required flying it into the ground and using a drag chute to stop. The pilots either thought ahead of the plane, or ended up dead. At the time I don't recall anything that could get away from the 104, or anything it couldn't catch.
"Missile with a man in it." I don't think it's so much the 104 slowing down, as the tanker trying to keep up.😁 The freaking stall speed is 198mph. I don't know what altitude that is at.
With the level of bad acting, close ups of the aircraft, along with its capabilities, I'm not entirely sure that this film wasn't a joint USAF Recruitment/Lockheed F-104 Sales video not so cleverly or well disguised as a movie.
Way back when(early '80s) i was at Luke AFB there was a some Luftwaffe 104s there. Particularly a polished metal one with a big red 69 on its vertical stab.
Funny movie A billion dollars worth of access to usaf planes and half the time the thing is out of focus, and the Sound synchronization to film seems a bit off ! Was it shot on 16mm? Color is bad and I know it might have faded by now but still.
They hook up to cables attached to the seat, which pull the the pilot's legs out of the way and stop them from flailing around when he/she has to get out in a hurry.
Loved the aviation scenes ... Fun to watch, ok plot, but the background music was terrible! It would have been better with no music at all! But, still worth it to see 104's fly😊😊
I dodged the draft by enlisting in the Air Force in '64. In '66, before I was sent to Tan Son Nhut, a Phantom crashed maybe 200 yards from my barracks (in which I was at the time) at Davis-Monthan.
@@TheRealCFF If not, then there sure are a lot of people round the world who seem to think so. But not to worry, their countries are not in any better shape. The world is stuck with a locust swarm of crooked politicians. Dig deep enough and I doubt you will find an honest one anywhere on the planet.
The F104 is a well-known supersonic fighter in Japan, too. It was also called "the last manned fighter. I'll avoid rating it as a "movie"(^-^; However, I think it is highly valuable as a valuable documentary film of the F104.
I missed seeing the F-104s on USAF active flying status by about 7 years, I was SAC anyway but I witnessed plenty of demos over the years! I have to say Kelly and Lockheed built an outstanding aircraft!!
Boring? On this I have to disagree. I actually enjoyed the film very much, and I definitely thank you for posting it. You are right, it would have faded into obscurity (especially since I never watched MST3K, but am familiar with it). I was born into the USAF life, as my father served from 1972 to 1992. While I never saw the F-104 Starfighter at any point during my youth on various instillations, both at home and abroad, I had heard many stories, not all good ones. Of course, my first introduction to the Century Series was the F-106 Delta Dart, which still remains my favorite of all the birds my father maintained.
I remember my first flight on a Starfighter. It was a doozie! I had that puppy at angels 35 mach 2 when, darn, the fan belt broke! I was to far over the Pacific to glide back to base but luckily the good old USS Enterprise was passing by and I managed a text book landing! Darn but they were out of spare fan belts but luckily I managed to repair that bird with a pair of nylons my wife had asked me to wear for luck and gee whiz I made it back to base! Like I said, a real doozie!😊
@@kennyspaulding796It deserves some kind of of award for joke density honestly, especially during the target range scene- "God, I love the Air Force! Who needs high school?"
Boring? Really? This movie has great air to air cinematography. It was actually filmed on an AF base and featured real airmen. No hokey Hollywood BS, I think its a great time capsule. And they are still using the KC-135 six decades later. I'm a Huey pilot but never saw the Huskie really fly. It has the same engine as the Huey. The Modern K-Max is a modern derivative of the Huskie. And Mary was a fine looking girl, this was her only movie.
I wasn't a Huey pilot or tech but have been around them and wondered about the strap hanging under the right wing as the 104 was moving out at 1:15:30 because I've seen remove before flight ribbons on the Huey's when they are not in use. In the early '90s I was in the Air Force reserve at Grissom AFB where KC-135's ruled the roost. I had no idea they were around long enough to be in this movie.
The F104 was designed to be the first stage of a heat seeking missile aimed at Tu95's coming over the pole. The horrible safety record came from Lockheed's greed in promoting it as a multi role fighter to boost sales, which overloaded it with ordinance.
Tu-95 Bear didn't come "over the pole", they came east from the old Provedenia Air Base and through Alaska, or through the GIUK (Greenland, Iceland, UK) Gap from Murmansk. Bears from Murmanks were also deployed for extended TDY's to Cuba.
@@deltaveedesignconsulting7697 Hey, I understood what you were trying to get at. The 104 was an Interceptor, that someone thought would make a great all around fighter jet, that it failed at. Funny thing though, I was a USAF Security Policeman, and my 3rd duty assignment was to a Munitions Support Squadron at Balikesir AB Turkey 1991-92. The TAF was still flying F-104s out of Balikesir when I was there. So as young as I am, 53, I've actually seen operational F-104 Fighters flying.
Wonderful movie and the music is not bad either. I flew planes for 43 years but only those with a toilet and a place to brew some coffee. Thank you for posting.
I saw a NASA F-104 at General Dynamics in Ft. Worth. The day the F-16 XL flew, and Thunderbird No:1 came out of the paint booth. Plus an F-111 in for repairs! Good times.
I remember seeing this when I was a kid also. The one thing I’ve always remembered is that snap of the head when they release brakes. Just to piss off the wife I did the head snap in the car when the light turned green. 😁
I must admit : at these times 50's to 60's there were a real though , masculine MEN. They even acting like guys maded from wood, but this didn't make them bad actors, but true warriors in their job environment. And these planes...super 👍.
Beautiful aircraft. Especially in polished aluminum with those incredibly cool USAF markings! Just standing still on the ground they looked like a rocket ship that could take you to the stars.
Never remember seeing this film, these people do not appear to be actors. As an aero engineer, I gotta shake my head seeing the 104 being used as a bomber, the powers that be, can always be counted on to screw up anything they get their hands on. The 104 was designed as an air superiority fighter, not a landscape architectural tool.
Dad flew the F-104. He loved it! Only the best got to fly it and you had to be on your toes at all times. I flew the F-4 and F-16. Both dad and I flew for the airlines and had great careers. I miss dad very much. I was literally born a fighter pilot. It was in the blood.
Did you both asked many windchecks in your carrers ? Just kidding and congrat.
You had to be a REAL fighter pilot to fly this rocket, or it would make you pay!! 😎👍
I am not a fighter pilot, but which plane did you like flying more? F-4 or 16?
It has been said a fighter pilot has a killer instinct.. would you agree?
Good for you
Great film to preserve the history and era of the F104 and the US Air Force. I always thought the late 50s and early 60s was the pinnacle of the greatness of our country.
Everything started going downhill after the 1968 revolution.
All this plus nuclear submarines, satellites, computer research, a modern highway system…It's amazing the investments this country could afford to make when Ike was taxing the top incomes at a rate of 89%…
And you are right. Just think that the United States were able to launch the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs and land on the Moon _while at the same time they were fighting the Vietnam War._
To me this is nothing less than formidable.
Greetings from Portugal! 😀 🇵🇹
@@jlwilliams.... I'm pretty sure that nobody paid the top tax rate as it could be reduced by investing in the countries future so the very rich had two choices, either invest in companies or corporations for the countries improvement and future then pay normal tax or pay the high rate and most chose the first option
lol i consider the part where a real guy in LBJ becoming president more a pinnacle but sure
...flying's like making love...once an operator has a little experience, he things he's an expert!....ahh you gotta love the 60s!!!
German joke: How do you get hold of a Starfighter?
Answer: Buy a field. Wait.
I see what you did there. 😆
My Dad and I were both USAF. I miss him.
(F-104 w/o the wing tanks was my fav jet of all time,,, until the YF-23 came along)
Ohhhhhhhhhhh
No joke. The first series had an ejection seat shooting you down, not up. That solved the problem of hitting the tail. These planes still had technical problems. Example, the engine nozzle was not reliable. A number of planes got it stuck. Think about it. Suddenly the engine delivers hardly any power, that means, you are going down fast. If you can't make it to a runway, you are gonna jump out. Just because an hydraulic pump is failing. Such things really should be extremely rare, except it wasn't. That is why pilots prefer a two engined plane, if one engine quits this way (no fire) you fly home on the second engine. Single engine planes ALWAYS have a very very reliable engine. Those Starfighters should have been tested a year longer, at least. Pilots loved them, because a Starfighter taking a couple of air-to-air missiles had not that much weight and a hell of a lot of power. That is great. But what happens when you load these planes to the max? Then you fall right into your grave, if you do not fly it fast enough. You can not do tight corners anymore. You MUST go horribly fast. Sounds stupid, this means making a tiny mistake gets a pilot killed. Sure that applies to more fighter jets, but there are planes that are more foregiving, Starfighter was extreme. Still, pilots loved it.
@@voornaam3191 the "Century Series" fighter jets were so sexy and now bring waves of Cold war and early space program nostalgia to me.
A joke back: It's kinda on the users, the Germans were using it outside it's envelope which is highly unusual, Germans not following protocol.
Whether you think it's a good movie or a bad movie is purely subjective.
As an Air Force veteran and a lifetime aviation enthusiast, I love movies like this. This one happens to feature one of my favorite aircraft.
Several years ago I was fortunate enough to attend an air show where three F-104 Starfighters put on a very cool show. I would love to see them again, but I believe they quit flying and are now leasing their jets to NASA.
Saw the Belgian "Slivers"? at Bitburg in the early 70s. They were crazy LOW altitude inverted pass down the runway. Impressive.
20 years in the USAF and, until now, I never saw this movie. As soon as the guy said "I'll supply the dexidrine, no charge" I knew exactly why.
I feel that life in 50s till 60s was best days for living in this planet
I agree 110 percent.
As a child I lived in SoCal in 64-66. Even from my perspective (which included viewing nighttime rockets tests at rocketdyne!) it was a pretty amazing time even for a four year old! I was hip to all the jive . But could you imagine being an F104 pilot, socal, convertible, everybody drank and smoked, skinny ties, skinny people, all rowing in the same direction. And the nookie was neck deep for these pilots I'm sure. I say, scream, "Hallelujah!".
Especially after the CIA murdered JFK!
Only if you were in the western block.
Not So much in the east.
Well aside from the assassinations, civil unrest, race riots, Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam War and the other stuff we tend to forget it was okay.
One of the most beautiful aircraft made. In 1969 I was a T-37 crew chief at Perrin AFB and one morning while at the end of the flightline four F-104s from Webb AFB taxied by....wow, what sight. As they passed we T-37 crew chiefs all pointed up hoping for a vertical takeoff. The pilots all laughed and waved and to our surprise and delight.....they did ! I went on to crew F-4s and saw several of the world's best flight demonstration teams but seeing those F-104s going straight up was incredible :)
It was about the only thing they did really well... CLIMBING! 😀
A friend of mine was a T-37C Crew Chief too, but in the Portuguese Air Force. He too loved the F-104 but was well acquainted with the G - we had an Air Base loaned to the _Luftwaffe_ in Southern Portugal back then - and used to speak at length about all the aircraft's shortcomings, unnaceptably high wing load and other mistakes made. And he sure knew what he was talking about!
I worked at PAFB in 1969. Loved to play golf there. I'm originally from Sherman. I think Colonel Hardy was wing commander, and Colonel Bray was base commander.
I was raised in an Air Force family. We lived several years at Randolph. As an Air Force brat, and airplane nut, I hung out along the flight line whenever I could. Joined the Navy out of high school and for six years flew as crewman on EC-121M, EP-3E, EA-3B, C-1A, US-2B, SH-2F and SH-3G. I remember the F-104 as being a very hot; but dangerous aircraft.
I was not a flying officer, such as these fighter pilots in TAC, but was in SAc, 1969
to 1973, at end of the Vietnam War. At the
time of this film I was a freshman in college in Air Force ROTC, graduating in 1968.
So this film is interesting to watch.
The best damn opening of a movie ever! I saw one of these F-104 aircraft on display outside near Dallas along with the F-105 Thunderchief. Beautiful planes that looked more like rockets with little wing area.
It's a good wholesome story proclaiming USAF values. A flashback to the way it used to be in the 1960's. I liked it.
Here Here. 🍻
Me too!
Just what I was looking for.
While watching it I could almost taste those cheeseburgers and french fries served at the NCO Clubs at Travis and Hickam when my step-dad took me with him to pickup his buddies coming home from serving overseas.
I despised mystery science... whatever thousand =
Disrespectful, defacing jerks.
Me too . Look at top gun. This is what people want
It was something back then. But the 104 had a nick that I personally saw as a child in the 60's in Denmark. The widowmaker. On that occasion, he managed to pull out of it unscathed, but everybody knew something had happened yet again with the widowmaker. I saw him maintaining level flight while passing over the suburbs I lived in, and then, out of nowhere, the plane started a continuous, clearly uncontrolled even to a child like me, barrel role across the sky. I expected his wings to come off right quick, because that was the only time I ever saw them flapping like a bird wing. Not litterally of course, but even with the speed he rolled it was clear that the wingtips were moving up and down, lateral to the fuselage.
And that was actually what told me that it was uncontrolled and way out of design limits. Because even a kid like me with no science stuff in my backpack yet knew that with the short length they had, they were not supposed to move visibly like that at a distance view of about a 1000 to 1300 yards and about 1500 to 2000 feet up (altitude mentioned in the news). So that's why I though he was gong to loose the wings and go straight down. We later heard in the news that he landed safely back at base and the 104 was back in business in just a couple of days and that the cause was determined to be a malfunctioning control surface (not specified) on the starboard wing, though we never found out if it was an unforeseen tech glitch or poor maintenance.
But that is also the time I personally realized why they were called widowmakers. I never really liked the type after that. It was a scary sight to see for a 7 year old kid. My favorite type in the RDAF was the F-35 SAAB Draken. It was a beauty to look at in and of herself, and it was constantly underestimated by both NATO and Warsaw pact opponents during it's service with us, creating quite a few embarrasments for USAF and Sovjet pilots over time.
Long gone are those days unfortunately
I flew submarines in the Navy instead of jets because of my not perfect eyesight, but have always been a plane nut. My favorite two cold war era jets still are the Lockheed F-104 and the Vought F-8 Crusader. Like typical Airforce, there were a lot of glamour-shots in this film.
The Crusader was a beauty. As a student from the French School, I was allowed to seat on one from the _Aeronavale_ when I was 13, in the Carrier Clemenceau in Lisbon Harbour in 1979. Huge, magnificent aircraft! 😀
❤ so happy to see a movie about I didn't know existed😊made my day
I was enlisted and in a Navy aviation squadron permanently land based at N.A.S., Norfolk, Va., in the early 70's. We went on a lot of TDY to other bases for war exercises. I was a Plane Captain for our big A-3 Skywarriors. One day, I was out at the fuel pits, which were right off the runway, waiting for our planes to come back from exercises. A 104 was taxiing by, heading for the parking area. Compared to our A-3's, which were the largest Navy plane to ever deploy aboard a carrier, this 104 was tiny. It was still bright & shiny and great looking.
I remember getting a tour of the base in the mid in 1975 and all the S-2s you guys had there. I remember building a model of the A3
When I was in U.S.A.F.E. in the 70's. Germans, Italians, and Dutch, flew F1047G's. They were always a site to behold when they took off. Always seemed to have some N.A.T.O. F104's around. You just can't forget the sound of that GEJ79-19 in afterburner.
I was with the 626 Tactical Control Flight (Mobile Radar) USAFE in Bremerhaven northern Germany 1979-81 and watched German F-104s doing touch and goes at Luftwaffenstützpunkt der Marine, Navy Air Base, Cuxhaven. So much fun to watch.
When I was in the U,. S. A. F. in the early 1960's we flew KC-97 refueling tankers out of Cape Cod, Mass. ad RC-121' AWACS.
It was the most useless aircraft really. The USAF did not like it. The engine was not good, at high alpha, not enough air could get into the intakes causin flame outs, usually on final, the first versions had the wonderful ejector seat that went out through the bottom. So then along came the Lockheed scandals where, the jets the USAF did not want were sold with huge bribes to the German defence minister, the King of Holland and it was called the widow maker because it was sold as an IDS which it totally useless at. Only the Italians tamed it. Out of 1500 sold to Europe, 45% crashed.
@@jimwalsh8520 I always thought they were a death trap. Never liked a aircraft that didn't have a 0/0 ejection system. I worked on the flightline, and all we ever had were N.A.T.O tourist's everyday. Got to see them all. Still was a sight to behold.
@@genewalter5022 Wing loading too high, impossible aspect ratio and the USAF are not fools, they saw it as you did.
I was stationed at George AFB flying Wild Weasels. Kind of cool to see footage of the base in the '60s. The high desert was one of the most beautiful flying in the country.
Thanks I didn't know this movie existed... the F104 is a cool plane.. sleek and chic 👍
Check out 3:44 when 'Cordite 4" is talking with his wing boss and the picture clearly shows the left front windscreen partially missing with a jagged edge. It's shown multiple times through out the sequence. I guess they really want us to not pay TOO close attention. That said this was a great chance to see the F-104 in flight. It's fun to watch these old movies, even if it is pretty cheesy.
Saw an Interview of an Italian Air Force pilot who flew from Sigonella Air base in Sicily to Rome in 15 minutes. His smile said it all!
I don't remember seeing this movie as a kid. Dorky back story, but 1st rate plane pix. I didn't realize the 1st operational squadron was based at Hamilton AFB in February 1958. I was born on base in 1953 and grew up in Novato. I can remember hearing sonic booms and seeing the occasional high, speed low altitude pass. I heard there was a system to lock your flight boots into the seat frame prior to ejection. The 1st seats ejected downward and later models upward. Must have been a hell of a ride.
Yep, I saw it in the theater when I was nine years old. I only remember one scene, where a pilot demonstrates how thin the wing is by splitting a piece of paper in half on the leading edge.
I was 9 in '67 on a boy scout outing at Wright Patterson AFB. Went through the museum don't remember if they had the F104 then but when I got to the gift shop something made me buy the model kit. I thought that was the coolest looking jet in the world. Then came the F4 Phantom.
This movie was in the theater, for money?
@@N_Wheeler Yes.
@Paladin1873 sincerely hope it did not cost too much or was part of a double feature.
@@N_Wheeler Probably a double features since I only went to the movies on Saturdays.
Check out the "spurs" on their flight boots. Locks in their legs to the seat by cables to keep them from flailing during an ejection.
F-4 had something similar as well.
I remember plane spotting at Prestwick as a kid, Scottish Aviation used to service RCAF star fighters. Beautiful aircraft, 😊😊
My father was an instructor at Luke Air Force base in AZ for the F-104. He was also an instructor for the F-100. I miss him.
Was there a very brief cameo of a very young Harry Morgan as a crew chief at the beginning?
Na, Harry Morgan looked old in the 60's Remember he was on Dragnet as Joe Friday's sidekick starting in 1967 and this movie is 1964. He looked almost as old on Dragnet as he did on MASH,. He would have been almost 50 when this movie was made.
And George AFB , now known as Victorville Airport, is STILL out in the middle of Bumfuck, Nowhere (Victorville, CA). I never flew in there while in the USAF, but I flew in there with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department on search and rescue missions with Army Blackhawks (for refueling only). The ONLY thing open besides flight ops was the snack bar at the old bowling alley. But there was a surreal feeling about walking around what's left of the old airbase. And what little still remains was right out of this movie. Hard to believe that you're only 30 miles away from The Inland Empire and the eastern edge of the 19 million population strong Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.
I lived there in the early 60s as a child, we lived in Victorville and my father flew out of George AFB. I loved going onto the base during the summer playing in the hangers. Playing Pilot in my dad's jet. I still have the 104 Starfighter pins, patches, and models. And the family photos from Arm Forces Days with the jets lined up on the tarmac. I loved it when my brothers and I were out playing and the 104s went ripping overhead, waving as if our dad could see us below!
I worked as a military ATC in the 70's. Whenever a 104 or 06 entered the pattern, everybody else had to move over because their landing speeds were so high. Those stubby short wings do not offer much lift. Working a flight of 3 was a real handful.
I remember reading that it had a system that blew engine air over the flaps to increase lift - which made it incredibly difficult to land if the nozzles were blocked for some reason. Especially if only one side was blocked. And if the engine failed at altitude the pilots were ordered to eject and not attempt to glide to a landing.
By the sound of it, they were only good for gliding straight down!
Thanks for posting this movie. This was my first time watching it. It wasn't very exciting but it did bring back memories. I went in the USAF in 1971 and retired in 2001. At various times during my 30 years I was assigned to SAC, USAFSS, MAC, USAFE, AFSC, AFMC, AMC, and AFSPC. If you like this kind of stuff, consider checking out some of the Steve Canyon UA-cam videos.
The acting was laughable, the music pure punishment. The flight footage and the "F-104 howl" were more than worth it. The scenes at George AFB were also pretty good. BTW Chuck Yearger was wing commander there at about that time for real.
I agree with everything you said. And I still love it.👍✌️
You are wrong. The lounge music makes the movie. This is a Cold War movie on acid.
There is nothing like the whooing sound of the Starfighter.... As a kid going to airshows here in Canada, you knew when the Starfighters were firing up their J-79's even before you saw them taxi for take off. We had for many years a 4 ship CF-104 Starfighter demo team.. they were awesome to watch at airshows.
Man, did they name this movie right. Almost a Lockheed commercial with symphonic background music. I never saw it as a kid. If I had, I would have loved it.
In 1983 I was in Canada at Cold Lake when I was in the US Marines. We did a joint exercise and they flew the Starfighter. They called it the widow maker
Semper Fi, 72-76. I was a tower controller at MCAS El Toro.
They had an exercise at Cold Lake called Maple Flag. I once got in a low level drag race with a Candian F-104 with my RF-4C....pretty much stayed even with him.
I grew up in the USAF, my Dad was NCOIC of Refueling Maintenance and Special Purpose Vehicles. Was a military brat from 1947-1962. Then did my time in the Army. 2 Tours behind the IRON CURTAIN Berlin USCOB/ASB, British HQ's Olympia Stadium, 1966-1968; 1 Tour DaNang VIETNAM, 1968-1969. Then 11 years as a Navy ASW Weapons Systems Data Analyst in the Caribbean Basin. Finally got back to the Air Force as Radar Signature Data Analyst at the Air Force Technical Applications Laboratory, Patrick, AFB Florida, now Space Force Base. The Germans really loved the F-104s, the pilots treated them like they were their own little babies.
The Kaman Huskie at 1:00:45 was an interesting aircraft. The synchropter system was, unlike almost all other helicopter rotor systems, very stable in a hover. Unfortunately, the tips dipped at the sides and killed several people and I believe that was the main reason they went out of service.
It's a B at best, but I like it.
I entered the Air Force in 76, during interesting time, Air Force was still downsizing post Nam and changes, lots of changes.
I regret I didn't stay, by 38 I could have retired, then by 58 retired from my 2nd career, law enforcement, with 2 incomes and loads of benefits.
My grandsons followed me by joining up, just not A.F.
They followed my dad, the Corps
He had been a WW 2 vet of the Pacific, Silver Star, Bronze Stat, 3 P.H.s
Thank your whole family and you for your service.👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
I know there were some issues with these planes but boy they are something else in terms of the visuals and the performance, this fighter jet is a young boys dream, just the look of these jets must have increased recruitment into the air services no end!
On exercise with the British Army in Northern Germany in 1971, I remember being strafed by these Starfighters. We were told they often crashed.
Yup, nearly a 1/3 of the Luftwaffe F-104 fleet lost to accidents:
"The Germans lost 292 of 916 aircraft and 116 pilots from 1961 to 1989, its high accident rate earning it the nickname "the Widowmaker" from the German public."
(wiki)
There used to be a joke going around when I served in West Germany with the RAF “How do you get a Starfighter, buy a German farm and just wait, one’ll crash there eventually”.
@@mrjockt
Black humour at its morbid best lol
IIRC The German F-104G variant had a Martin-Baker seat.
The early Starfighters had an ejector seat that exited via the floor!
What the hell was a starfighter doing strafing? It is an interceptor. Not even close to its designed role. Low maneuverability for that. Good way to lawn dart.
@@icecold9511 Lockheed persuaded the Germans that they could turn it into a ground attack aircraft………they lied.
I believe the KC-135a tanker is out of McDill AFB Florida. Very few tankers had hose and drogue booms. Was stationed at Wurtsmith AFB 1981-82, March AFB Riverside California from November 1982 to January 1990. Fairchild AFB January 1990 till retirement 1996. Been around tankers for a long time.
Flew Space-A on one out of Tinker about 6-7 years ago. They got that dude up in the Class A and punched it. What they briefed as a 9.5 hour flight was barely 7.
'Course the difference between then and now was the high bypass turbofan engines and the retrofit so that the flight engineer station was a desk. My daughter, who was taking lessons in a Cessna at the time got invited into the cockpit and later they parked her in the boomer's pod.
@@KyleCowden I have fallen asleep in the boomer pod on a very long flight. Woke up to see the grand canyon directly below me from the boomer window.
@@spokanetomcat1 Man what a view that had to have been! In my daughter's case I'm not sure she would've been retrieved they were so casual about it.
She said that, as she was taking pictures of the pacific, she accidently kicked the ejection button that they had showed her and it scared her.
I explained later that it would have been pinned unless there was a refueling mission involved. As it was we had a couple of crated engines and one family brought a padded picnic blanket and played Uno most of the way.
That crew was awesome.
@@spokanetomcat1 I deployed to Maron AB Spain from Eaker AFB Arkansas during Operation Desert Shield aboard one of our KC-135s. As soon as it was safe to move about, three guys claimed the boom pod, and went to sleep. The rest of us had to contend with troop seats.
Also I watched a ground crew change a KC-135's "SAC" probe for a "TAC/NATO/USN" drogue at Clark AB Philippines some time while I was there 1988-90.
@@earlwyss520 Fairchild MMS received your MHU-196 bomb trailers from Eaker, AKA Blytheville AFB. just before I retired.
Dig the early 1960s music and vibe. Always has that ethereal feeling to it. Sounds like Percy Faith and his orchestra.
Winds 2 gusty to 30!. That's quite a spread between the steady state and the gust. Must have been a turbulent ride.
Starfighters had the worst records for crashing, although they looked so totally fantastic in their silver skin. One "Star"figther was even featured in the "Star"Trek original series due to its impressively handsome, manly looks
They remind my of the all female ‘Angels Sqn’ from the tv series “captain scarlet” by master puppeteers Gerry Anderson and Sylvia, it was a big hit in the United Kingdom, don’t know about the rest of the western world, and alongside ‘Thunderbirds’ and ‘Joe90’ they were a big part of my growing up in the 60s and early 70s.
@@allandavis8201 "Thunderbirds"-that masterpiece of Sci Fi puppetry, is a total classic, Allan. Itz like a total wow
Only the German and Italian airforce had issues( Italy fixed theirs by enlarging the tail and wings) and that was due to conversion from the F86 and F84 to this hotrod. Pakistan and Taiwan had no issues,engaging Migs in combat and had adequate training from scratch on the 104 so all of the issues the other countries had was down to training and experience. A comparison was done by the USAF on safety and accidents of century series (F100-106) and found that the Starfighter was better than the 101,105 and 102 with the 106 having the best followed by the 100. Context matters and in the USAF heavy lobbying for the F4 hard started so the Starfighter was discredited by the upper command,added to the fact that the role it was designed for was changed to long range interception with missiles therefore not very useful for bomber interception.
@@rodneypayne4827 glad you mention Germany, since they lost more pilots to this uber-handsome plane than anyone else. One even suffocated the pilot and then flew on on its own all the way to Norway before crashing.
Great episode
At an airshow in England in 1979, I saw a pair of West German 104s do a high-speed head-on near miss (on purpose) with a lateral separation of about 100 feet. Pretty adrenaline-generating...
They were the German Navy Vikings display team.
@@VulcanDriver1Saw two at Alconbury UK,German markings.
Such a short wing!🙂
F104, one of my top five fav aircraft. Still have the 1:48 scale model I made as a teen in the 1970s. B52 also in my list of top five.
Thanks for posting!
I really enjoyed this movie, a great historical account of the F-104, in my opinion, with necessary "love scenes" thrown in to make it more than just a documentary. :^) I'm really glad that they made some movies like this or most people would have no real knowledge of the aircraft in mention. I especially enjoyed the aerial re-fueling scenes .. How the times have changed since this movie was made! Those were definitely better days, now that a person looks back! Thanks for sharing this video ..
Forget Top Gun! excellent aerial views, zero special FX, a real jewel. Who cares about the plot? with one of the best looking A/C ever
Great movie 🍿🎥 thanks for the upload
I always think the Starfighter looks better with its tip-tanks fitted
Of all the planes available to them, the AF Museum at Wright-Patterson has a F-104 on a pedestal in front of the museum....
This was the era of "speed". Todays' jets are slower than those jets. Experience has proven maneuverability is lost with speed. One needs (just a bit slower speed) to fight and not turn so widely.
But, those jets were sleek and they did serve as very good interceptors.
The F-15 is faster and more maneuverable than the F-104, I've seen it in person while serving in the USAF & stationed at a Turkish AB with F-104s assigned to it. We had a GA. ANG unit fly in with F-15s, and one afternoon I sat out side the all ranks club watching the F-104s & F-15s do touch and goes. The F-15 would pull up, & turn, the F-104 would pull, pull, pull up, then turn, turn, turn some more. The F-15 made two passes in the touch and go before the F-104 made it back for the first time.
The star of this movie was designed by Kelly Johnson. The people were just props. This is an Airforce recruitment movie. See? Even your grandparents Hollywood had an agenda. I love the F-104 though. The movie got the engine sound right. Cut out the cardboard acting, it would be worth watching again.
I agree !! Kelly is like Gene Roddenberry - or Arthur C Clarke , P-38, 104, A-12 ( SR71 )
I had the feeling through most of it that it was not for public viewing when made. Too much info on what things were and how they worked and so on. More like a "less boring" training film than an entertainment film.
Very cool to see them flying, especially with the lounge music in the background.
I appreciated the strong message in this film about making way for the next generation of American leaders. The new 104 pilot whose dad was trying to steer and even babysit him into his new career. This father, who was an "Operation Tidal Wave" member, which made him nothing less than a secular saint in the postwar aviation community was nevertheless way out of line in meddling in his sons future. The statement of; "Under a great tree, nothing grows" was very evident in this case. Fortunately, the entire chain of command within the 104 unit did all they could in protecting the interests of their young protege from his father's concerns. Rightly so, they empowered him to sow his own career seeds in this new field of aviation.
From a former aircraft mechanic that spent 2 years on the CF 104 in the mid 1980s, I enjoyed immensely my walks in that forest of the jet age that they all helped to create.
I've not seen this film before but I believe this the "Top Gun" of it's time. Beautiful jet, flies like a dream at high speed, but stalls like a brick. Further, due to its stubby wings, it doesnt tolerate crosswinds or vortex very well.
You can check the footage of the fly of one of the XB-70 prototypes to prove the bit about the vortex.
THEY HAVE ONE YOU CAN FLY IN THE PS-2 GAME AERO-ELIET!!! IT ALSO HAS AN F-4 & F-86;---UNLIKE THE HEAVY F-4;---THE F-104 IS BASELY UN-CONTROLABLE BELOW 200M.P.H.& YOU MUST TOUCH WHEELS AROUND 179 TO PROTECT THE LANDNG GEAR!!!!; THE F-4 PREMITS (some) LINE-UP AT 189; & LANDS SWEETLY--166--170!!!!
The miniscule wings on this flying J79 make the wings on a Viper seem huge by comparison.
That's so true. Just ask the crew of the B-70. I know that they always came into land...hot....when I was working flightline.
@@genewalter5022 I JUST GOTTA ASK;----DO YOUR KIDS KNOW WHAT A SPECIAL-AIRMAN YOU ARE????;--I MEAN; COME ON ; YOU WORKED ON A BASE WITH---A STAR-BOMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
please upload HD version please
Okay sure, let me pull it out of my magic hat.
I remember reading about Eric Hartman when he was released from the Russians . He became head of the West German Air Force. He campaigned against the adoption of the 104's saying they were too
hot for the German pilots. Many crashed !
Chuck Yeager flew one setting an altitude record . It was when he had a problem and bailed out with his helmet on fire resulting in facial burns.
I enjoyed this feature.
The Starfighter and the Austin Healey in the same movie !!! Doesnt get any better .
I remember a lot of Pilot Error accidents in 104's being flown in Germany, in the lat 50's. They'd get disoriented in Fog & Clouds. Go inverted, and _pull up_ straight into the ground in the Rhine Valley.
best line from the movie: "don't spank her too hard"
😆🤣.
For a while(years), there were frequent sonic booms produced by 104’s. And several times, I saw a tiny bright dot leaving the tip of a 104. It was 60’s in Taiwan.
I remember as a kid playing outside or working dad's rigerus dawn to dusk gardening detail, hearing sonic boom's a lot. Why did they stop, was they causing damage to the atmosphere or was it people complaining?
@@kennyspaulding796 I think it was partially because the situation across Taiwan straight ease down a bit. Besides, the commies in China were a little busy over Vietnam at that time might be the cause as well.
My dad few it in Vietnam, had a very hidden flights over there, they few supersonic flights over downtown Sam-City! @@RW_Recorder
@@mydogspots Salute to your dad. 104's is tricky to fly, many pilots sacrificed, including at least one of my neighbors.
I didn't know the thing could slow down enough to be refueled in-air. I didn't fly them, but the F104G I knew was really a rocket with 7-foot fins euphemistically called "wings." Landing it required flying it into the ground and using a drag chute to stop. The pilots either thought ahead of the plane, or ended up dead. At the time I don't recall anything that could get away from the 104, or anything it couldn't catch.
"Missile with a man in it." I don't think it's so much the 104 slowing down, as the tanker trying to keep up.😁 The freaking stall speed is 198mph. I don't know what altitude that is at.
Even today(2024) there is not much that can catch a S model.
A silly movie but it makes me nostalgic for the 4 years I was in.
With the level of bad acting, close ups of the aircraft, along with its capabilities, I'm not entirely sure that this film wasn't a joint USAF Recruitment/Lockheed F-104 Sales video not so cleverly or well disguised as a movie.
6:55 Col. Potter looks younger than when he was in Korea.
Way back when(early '80s) i was at Luke AFB there was a some Luftwaffe 104s there. Particularly a polished metal one with a big red 69 on its vertical stab.
Funny movie
A billion dollars worth of access to usaf planes and half the time the thing is out of focus, and the Sound synchronization to film seems a bit off !
Was it shot on 16mm?
Color is bad and I know it might have faded by now but still.
What are those spur like things these pilots are wearing ??
They hook up to cables attached to the seat, which pull the the pilot's legs out of the way and stop them from flailing around when he/she has to get out in a hurry.
@@oxcart4172 Thanks for the info !
Loved the aviation scenes ... Fun to watch, ok plot, but the background music was terrible! It would have been better with no music at all! But, still worth it to see 104's fly😊😊
It was also the movie where the world learned about corn detasseling!
I grew up in Iowa and detasselled corn too... and was not expecting to hear about it in a movie about the early days of fighter jets!
1964, the US at peak military and economic power but the beginning of the long long slide into chaos, corruption and decay.
I dodged the draft by enlisting in the Air Force in '64. In '66, before I was sent to Tan Son Nhut, a Phantom crashed maybe 200 yards from my barracks (in which I was at the time) at Davis-Monthan.
Who says our best days are over?
@@TheRealCFF If not, then there sure are a lot of people round the world who seem to think so. But not to worry, their countries are not in any better shape. The world is stuck with a locust swarm of crooked politicians. Dig deep enough and I doubt you will find an honest one anywhere on the planet.
I would say the late 80's wad the end.
Love the F-104's....but what was the point of this movie?
32:06 what munition is this?
This movie reminded me of the french series 'Chevalieurs du ciel'.
The F104 is a well-known supersonic fighter in Japan, too.
It was also called "the last manned fighter.
I'll avoid rating it as a "movie"(^-^;
However, I think it is highly valuable as a valuable documentary film of the F104.
This movie and “Blue Tornado” are among the movies that prominently show the F-104.
Never seen Blue Tornado. I wonder if I can see that on you tube.
plenty of videos right here on YT showing abandoned George air force base
F15に更新される1980年代まで日本では使い続けました。旧式化して尚、比類無き上昇力に惚れ込んだパイロットが沢山いました。
I missed seeing the F-104s on USAF active flying status by about 7 years, I was SAC anyway but I witnessed plenty of demos over the years! I have to say Kelly and Lockheed built an outstanding aircraft!!
Starring B-1 Bob Dornan! Remember him in SoCal politics in the 80's.
He was quite the firebrand. He spoke at a conference I attended in 1990. Good times!
Is this model F104 the very early model before the tail was extended rearward?
American A and C models kept the narrower rudder. Canadian and European as well as Japanese Starfighters had the enlarged rudder.
Boring? On this I have to disagree. I actually enjoyed the film very much, and I definitely thank you for posting it. You are right, it would have faded into obscurity (especially since I never watched MST3K, but am familiar with it). I was born into the USAF life, as my father served from 1972 to 1992. While I never saw the F-104 Starfighter at any point during my youth on various instillations, both at home and abroad, I had heard many stories, not all good ones. Of course, my first introduction to the Century Series was the F-106 Delta Dart, which still remains my favorite of all the birds my father maintained.
Put a large enough engine on it and even a brick will fly.! Starfighters won a lot of air combat competitions.
I remember my first flight on a Starfighter. It was a doozie! I had that puppy at angels 35 mach 2 when, darn, the fan belt broke!
I was to far over the Pacific to glide back to base but luckily the good old USS Enterprise was passing by and I managed a text book landing! Darn but they were out of spare fan belts but luckily I managed to repair that bird with a pair of nylons my wife had asked me to wear for luck and gee whiz I made it back to base!
Like I said, a real doozie!😊
I recall someone commenting the movie ‘Airport’, calling it an hour-and-a-half Boeing commercial. I guess you could replace Boeing with Lockheed.
نرجو ترجمه فلم اللغه العربيه
I actually found this on old VHS before I saw the MST3K version, looks like the same tape :)
Oh God. There's a MST version? I have GOT to see that.
@@kennyspaulding796 Oh Yes. It's rather infamous. ua-cam.com/video/7Tm1ciFq5d4/v-deo.html
@@kennyspaulding796It deserves some kind of of award for joke density honestly, especially during the target range scene- "God, I love the Air Force! Who needs high school?"
Boring? Really? This movie has great air to air cinematography. It was actually filmed on an AF base and featured real airmen. No hokey Hollywood BS, I think its a great time capsule. And they are still using the KC-135 six decades later. I'm a Huey pilot but never saw the Huskie really fly. It has the same engine as the Huey. The Modern K-Max is a modern derivative of the Huskie. And Mary was a fine looking girl, this was her only movie.
I wasn't a Huey pilot or tech but have been around them and wondered about the strap hanging under the right wing as the 104 was moving out at 1:15:30 because I've seen remove before flight ribbons on the Huey's when they are not in use. In the early '90s I was in the Air Force reserve at Grissom AFB where KC-135's ruled the roost. I had no idea they were around long enough to be in this movie.
Are those regulation sunglasses?
The F104 was designed to be the first stage of a heat seeking missile aimed at Tu95's coming over the pole. The horrible safety record came from Lockheed's greed in promoting it as a multi role fighter to boost sales, which overloaded it with ordinance.
Tu-95 Bear didn't come "over the pole", they came east from the old Provedenia Air Base and through Alaska, or through the GIUK (Greenland, Iceland, UK) Gap from Murmansk. Bears from Murmanks were also deployed for extended TDY's to Cuba.
Yeah yeah. Poetic license.
@@deltaveedesignconsulting7697 Hey, I understood what you were trying to get at. The 104 was an Interceptor, that someone thought would make a great all around fighter jet, that it failed at.
Funny thing though, I was a USAF Security Policeman, and my 3rd duty assignment was to a Munitions Support Squadron at Balikesir AB Turkey 1991-92. The TAF was still flying F-104s out of Balikesir when I was there. So as young as I am, 53, I've actually seen operational F-104 Fighters flying.
@@earlwyss520 I saw one do four point rolls at an airshow at George AFB near Victorville CA. Now a logistics hub for air freight carriers.
Truer word have never been spoken .
George was my first duty assignment 1972-1975. Cool seeing the control tower and Cuddeback AGGR.
Wonderful movie and the music is not bad either. I flew planes for 43 years but only those with a toilet and a place to brew some coffee. Thank you for posting.
A flying rocket with short wings. I always loved those planes. Seen them in several museums and saw some at air shows. A totally insane design.
Luke AFB has one on static display inside the base.
I saw a NASA F-104 at General Dynamics in Ft. Worth. The day the F-16 XL flew, and Thunderbird No:1 came out of the paint booth. Plus an F-111 in for repairs! Good times.
NASA used the F-104 as a chase plane for the Space Shuttle !
Very good job fellows!! Always seemed to have some N.A.T.O. F104's around. You just can't forget the sound of that GEJ79-19 in afterburner.
at take off you could feel the After Burner induced vibrations in your stomach!
We maintenance people at RAF Bentwaters used to refer to it as "The world's fastest flying pig".
But then we had F-4 E models.
I remember seeing this when I was a kid also. The one thing I’ve always remembered is that snap of the head when they
release brakes. Just to piss off the wife I did the head snap in the car when the light turned green. 😁
I must admit : at these times 50's to 60's there were a real though , masculine MEN. They even acting like guys maded from wood, but this didn't make them bad actors, but true warriors in their job environment.
And these planes...super 👍.
Beautiful aircraft. Especially in polished aluminum with those incredibly cool USAF markings! Just standing still on the ground they looked like a rocket ship that could take you to the stars.
That's what I liked about all the jets in the early 60's that polished mirror look.
The look like the inspiration for some Star Wars ships.
This is the plane the Enterprise took the pilot out of after the tractor beam caused it to break up in original Star Trek.
F-104
One shot deal...recon or first strike...sleek birds...saw them in Takhli RTAB back in the days.😎
Never remember seeing this film, these people do not appear to be actors. As an aero engineer, I gotta shake my head seeing the 104 being used as a bomber, the powers that be, can always be counted on to screw up anything they get their hands on. The 104 was designed as an air superiority fighter, not a landscape architectural tool.
The two women were married to air force pilots The dark-haired actress husband was killed in air force plane crash in 1963.