F-104 Starfighter Walkaround
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2016
- Video sponsored by Air Models
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Dave Groark gives us a detailed walkaround of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Dave also shares several stories about he and his friends flying the F-104 and their experiences. This was filmed at the Historic Aviation Memorial Museum in Tyler Texas.
You need to squeeze like 20 millenials to get enough testosterone to keep this guy running for a day.
Hahaha!!! That is one of the best comments I’ve ever gotten on this video!!!
Lol.
Haha you only need one boomer to ruin the financial, economical and environmental future of 20 millennials and 40 of there children. 😃 nevertheless I love the video! great job!!
@@CmonDudes Found a millennial.
@@CmonDudes Millennials don't know the difference between 'THEIR' and
THERE it seems.
One boomer(Trump) nearly ruined all these things for the WHOLE USA, mind you...
I love it when a real expert is explaining things. Totally awesome aircraft review by a totally awesome reviewer. For me this is right up there with the Me262 and my fav jet fighter.
leokimvideo
Be sure to check out my walkaround video of the Me-262. You’ll probably like it!!
@Horizon585 can't blame the aircraft for that, it was put into a role it was never intended for because they didn't want to invest in their own fighter-bomber, that is until panavia rolled around.
I can see you have very fine and discerning tastes
It's a really fast and exciting piece of garbage.
@Horizon585 The F-104 was actually an excellent fighter-bomber. And most of it's early problems were engine related, not aircraft related. The J79 was a new engine when first used in the F-104 and had many bugs to be ironed out. Other problems arose from inexperienced pilots being rushed into a very high performance aircraft that they were not ready for.
I would love to spend an afternoon listening to this pilot and all his stories.
Lovely old character and gentlemen !
Love to have a coffee with this guy
sane here
The old guys in our lives deserve respect and a listening ear to say the least. They did it before us, that alone deserves respect. This guy is on another level of cool old guy though!
I know, he's a gem
I checked out in the F-104C/D back in late 1959, at George Air Force Base, Victorville, CA. I think I was was a member of the Lockheed Starfighter Pilot in the 400 plus pilots. There were a lot of F-104A/B pilots that were already checked out before me in the Air Force Air Defense Command. One of the bases was a Hamilton AFB, California just North of San Rafael, CA. I was lucky to get the chance to be assigned at George AFB after finishing the Advance Fighter Weapons School at Las Vegas in late 1959 1st in my class flying the F-100 Super Sabre. Was already served on Nuke alert at Luke AFB, Arizona which was called the Fighters Pilots University back in 1958/59. I was only the 2nd or 3rd in my class at that stage. Back at Lackland AFB, I was one of 400 officers Class 59-F that got the F-104C.
When I was checked out in the 4 at George AFB, I was already given a nuke assignment in Red China. The city that I was assigned to attack, if I ever launched was beyond my combat radius of 600 Nautical miles, that required that I carry all four external fuel tanks plus the 25K Mark 28 on the center-line. Would you believe that if I actually had a Mark 28 strapped to my bird, I would have had to sign for the bomb. The base intelligence officer, in a secret guarded building, I was given some U2 photographs showed that the seacoast was so heavily armed with AA that I would not have made it through the their border; so chose to go in high at flight level 350, then descend to an altitude of 200 feet A/G on the deck and fly from a memorized flight path at 420 KIAS. The USAF required that we drop the bomb withing a plus or minus 6 seconds for there were others that would be flying nuke missions, and we were not to drop our bomb for others may be flying though my explosion on the way to their target. Since I would be going supersonic at the target, I would have done an over-the-should toss. The Mark 28 would have flown a vertical path to about 3,000 feet, and then do a dive to target. This was suppose to give me ample time to complete my loop and accelerated in burner to escape the 25K blast. However, I would have used up all my pylon tank fuel, which I would have pickled off when empty, the same with the two tips. I would have had to eject while still in Red China, and hope to evade and escape to the ocean, or wait until the war was over. Reason why the entire class had to go to Escape and Evade class up at Stead AFB, Arizona before we were assigned to an overseas or stateside Tactical Air Base, one in Japan, West Germany or Turkey. The 479th TFW on had some 57 Cs, and 27 Bs. Being single at the time, I served four rotations to Spain, and West Germany with the 435th TFS, 436th TFS, 434th TFS standing alert during the Berlin Crisis at Bitberg Flugplatz, then back to the 435th, and finally the 476th TFS. I was one of the first four to stand alert for the West Berlin Crisis. Sec. of Defense Robert McNamara flew to Bitberg by order of JFK to thank us; myself, my A Flight Cmdr. Capt. David Auld, and 1st Lt. Woodruff Halsey. McNamara slid down the brass pole in his shinny cashmere suit. The CO was a Maj. Johnson. Johnson was credited as the fastest man and broke the speed record at Mach 2.2 I think. I flew his wing on our return back to GAFB where because of the attrition rate of crashes the 434th was abandon. I was ordered to return to Germany to continue standing alert with the 436th and switched to the 476th TFS. I was assigned as the Public Relation, Nuclear Security, and assistant Maintenance Officer. The 476th TFS was ordered to fly high altitude missions in high pressure suits; some of us reached 90,000 feet. We had our IFFs on so the Russians could track us and see that we could easily shoot down their new high speed nuke bombers with a set of GAR 8 AIM missiles doing Mach 1.6 plus at altitudes of 50,000 feet or more. There is more to this story. I was the only one out of all the different squadrons that stood alert, to be the last to stand on alert. The squadron prepared for some three months to fly non-stop from GAFB complelting three air to air refueling to attack Cuba on the morning of the raid on Cuba. JFK called it off. Ended up standing alert for the Cuban Crisis, completing parachute jump school, and earning another two AFSCs as Chief of Maintenance for the 476th TFS with (26) F-104Cs, and (2) F-104Bs, at our MOB at Kung Kwan Taiwan, and FOB DaNang, RV. I was the only USAF rated pilots with three AFSCs ON ORDERS. I almost forgot, I was assistant quality officer, and chief Functional Flight Test Officer with the 479 Field Maintenance Officer when I left and when I returned from Vietnam at GAFB. Major William Bergin retired. There I was with some 40 or more QC personnel to do the entire base, including the diesel train, and fuel depot etc.
In the upper corner you will see a replica plastic model of the F-104C, # 56-910 that I flew on a practice scramble flying Capt David Aulds' wing from Bitberg AB in snow conditions, and a 200 foot ceiling. We were in the soup and as Dave was giving me the hand signal to come out of AB, my GE J-79 mod 15 compressor stalled. The emergency in that case was to chop the throttle, I could feel the buzz from the turbine, and my RPM was dropping fast, which is hard to do when you rely on a running engine, wait until the RPM falls to 58 percent, where the two generators drop off line, my radar and light went out, an in total darkness; the emergency then was to hit the two ignition start switches just above the up gear handle. The damn engine started. The instrument panel lights come back on and the radar set came back to life. I was lucky. I was flying a downward seat ejection system. If I bailed I would not be here.
If there are any readers to this thesis, and you know of any F-104C drivers, will you pass the word that I would like to have them contact me at my e-mail: normannhuff@gmail.com. I did get the rank of Captain, but that was all that I could be expected to achieve in the USAF. All the other maintenance officers with more tan 25 years, that I encountered with F-105s, F4Cs , never got the rank of more than Major. Adios brothers. I loved that J-79 sound. I can still hear it. The F-104C main fuel tank, forward and main could only hold 5830 lbs. I also have a true walk around of the F-104C, required check list in 8 mm color somewhere in my files.
Normal Norm
Wonderful
ahh back when the air force was actually competent. Really sad to see how directionless and missionless it has become, with morale at an all-time low and suicides at an all time high
This wasn't covered in schools when I was growing up , sir thank you for what you did as it affects the globe even today .
@@dantem4119 : We have the Navy.
wow
Someone needs to make a series like this. Interviewing all the old guys around their planes and their stories. Priceless.
Agreed!!
Man, this guy is fun to listen to! You can tell he's the real deal, he doesn't feel the need to overdo and blow wind. Thank you Sir for your service and the great walk around here!😉👍🇺🇸
This guy is still as excited about the f104 as when he was a kid piloting them!!! You can just tell he loves those things he could sit for hours im sure telling us different things about the f104
This is millions of times better than seeing one of these on static display! The experiences and side stories are truly priceless.
What a great storyteller!!!! Not only did he fly F-104's but looking at his arm patches he also flew 100 missions in Vietnam in an F-105 Thunderchief AND the other arm patch shows he flew A-7D Corsair II's!! I wish Mr. Groark would write a book, I couldn't find anything he's written, maybe he'll see this and go for it, I'd buy it in a second!!!
True space cowboy here.
Haha, that's true
I think this is probably one of the most gorgeous planes ever built. What a beauty.
It’s almost like the jetsons had a real world vehicle
My all-time favorite fighter jet was an is the F -104 Starfighter. It's (in my humble opinion) a masterpiece work of art. As a young boy of 4 or 5 years old; my dad, Msgt Robert H. ("Baby Boy") Stafford, who was a full-time employee at the NC Air National Guard in Charlotte, NC, sat me in the cockpit of an F -104. I'm 60 years old now, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I've built several F -104 model in the past. As fast and as powerful as those jets are; they can't withstand the combat attack of small children.
Very cool Bob, glad you liked it buddy
ErikJohnston : I remember this 'Ol gal from my child hood. Why ? Because I had this very fighter ( wing tip fuel tanks and all........."I thought that they were missiles, until seeing these educational educational videos" ) as a
metal die-cast toy. I always thru out these years ( I'm 65 now ) wondered as to what ever became of this air plane ? Was it just a "toy mock up" ? Or was this ever a REAL jet fighter ? Well thanks to "You Tube" and people such as your self, who still want to preserve the "Legacy" of these historical air craft, I now have received quite an education after all these years. Thank You All So Much ! ✈🇺🇸😄😂😉
Sad to say, dreadful war plane.
Ohhh my god...so many stories this guys have. They were so lucky to have lived during that period
Great stories and tour. I met a former RCAF CF-104 pilot who flew nuclear missions in Germany back in the day. He said at one point, they would don an eyepatch on one eye. The idea was that if they were blinded by the nuclear flash after dropping the bomb, they would have one good eye with which to fly back to base. He also said in the flare on landing, you had to add power to ensure the boundary layer was maintained and the aircraft would land more smoothly. Those were different times...
My uncle was USAF and stationed in England in 1947. In 2015 he was finally able to tell me about when his bomber team was told about the nuclear payload they would be carrying going forward. He was sworn to secrecy for 65 years.
What a badass dude and plane
"Over Macho Grande?"
'No - I will never get over Macho Grande''...is from what movie about airplanes.
Badass dude yes, too bad the plane wasn't that great
@@gordonanderson3111 Airplane II 🤪
@@gordonanderson3111 ua-cam.com/video/JswFF2dKiLM/v-deo.html
@@swillm3ister "Thru these doors walk the oldest and boldest warriors on Earth" - was a sign over what high speed flight test center doorway, for a short time in '45, until "1 in 4" had been killed that is.
Wonderful to listen to this veteran share his stories.
Fantastic. To have flown that bird and lived that history! What a life. Love that plane. Built the model about 30 years ago.
Wow, what a pilot! He's fun to listen to. You just feel how much he loves to fly!
Thank you so much, Sir. What a great talk about a legendary aircraft. Obviously, this pilot loved his plane. We should all be so lucky.
I remember that remarkable howl from my youth. Miss that.
Oh my lord. Where the hell has this channel been hiding? Random search for the f-104 turns up this amazing walkaround. Best looking aircraft ever created. One critique, tho. What the hell kind of film maker, lets a person speak about a subject they are expert on, without interjecting every 10 seconds, with distracting and inane interruptions and questions? You must have totally failed modern film/tv/propaganda school. Just kidding of course. What a great series. Well framed, filmed and edited. Great sound quality. Top notch all the way. Thanks.
I (Major Arthur Whittaker) was the engineer on the F-104G(MAP) an updated version of this aircraft from 1963 to 1966. I read an article on this aircraft in Popular Mechanics Magazine in 1955 and was very impressed not knowing the role that it would play in my life eight years in the future.
My Dad Was part of the 58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing, Fighting 69th,back at Luke AFB,IN Pheonx,AZ in THE 70S,I grow up with this plane,man it brings back memories,THANK YOU
Dad was a 104 IP in the 60's with the 4512 CCTS ( later to become the 69th)
It's not an old airplane- it will always look brand new and on the leading edge. Nothing will ever look as hot.
Oooo baby. Love it
I agree 100% It's a flying hotrod. One of my very favorite aircraft.
This is a sleek beast, but the F-14 will always be the most sexy to me
F14 is my fav fighter
Nothing else will look hot ? Accept when the pilots burn up in that death trap.
Worst fighter ever I wouldn't want to pull anything over 1.1g
Sierra Hotel ! These are my Heroes! I'm 59 years old, and grew up around these guys. I could listen to him for months on end.
When I got into the life after college in 1984, it was F4-E's (Air Force), then F-15C's. Many more after that, but going in, I'd have loved to hear this kind of 'video example' of an F-104. We worshiped those guys with the stirrups and a stupid fast, and basically useless Fighter.....An old joke from the late 70's...a new pilot walks up to an F-104 Driver and asks him, "what's it good at?" Going Fast. That's Cool, what else is it good at? "Going Fast". And so it goes.
Love the video.
Probably the most enjoyable, informative video I've ever seen on UA-cam. This guy reminds me of the days when my father (an army pilot) and his buddies would sit around and trade war stories. Men like this are priceless. Thank you sir.
It was truly amazing times.
I was an airforce child. Took a 104 walk-around in Baden in Air cadets 1974 one of my classmates went on to fly Voodoo in CAF
Old timers like him becoming very scarce.
@@brucerideout9511Agreed. sadly
Amazing. I could listen to this gentleman all day. Great stories told in such entertaining way. Thank you for posting this!
Your very welcome. Glad you liked it
couldn't agree more, thanks for posting this great video @ ErikJohnston
many thanks for this piece of history saved. the f104 is quite possibly the most beautifully sleek piece of hardware ever to take flight. kelly and his teams have created with pen and paper planes that have yet to be equaled in line and function by computer until just recently and even then cannot match the form or simplicity of these magnificent machines.
I mean yeah that's kind of a given considering the first generation of computer designed (excluding computer calculated RCS as computer-aided stealth aircraft already exceeded the best human design stealth aircraft way back in the '60s) aircraft such as the T-7 are just starting to get adopted
“Touchdown at around 153 knots, a real reasonable speed!” LOL. Speed is relative. What a great old pilot. I would love to have a beer with the old timer and spend a day listening to his good old days stories.
This spurs detail is amazing. What a wild idea. I love that having them on your feet also became a status thing.
My dad was a 104 IP in the 60's. I have dad's flight suit, helmet and SPURS.
Listening to him talk about the Starfighter and tell Cold War stories is my happy place. Would love to hear more at a table with some beers.
What a great video !!!! it was nice hearing the stories from someone who actually flew the aircraft . Very well done .
+Robert Kavich I agree Robert, it's always cool hearing first hand what it was like.
...been there, done that!
+Winfried Wobbe What is amazing is there are many UA-cam post degrading the Starfighter. I believe pilots.
Well, we can thank him cause he didn't get captured.
I agree totally and only wish it was longer! So many interesting stories and points.
That shape, the polished metal exterior and the airforce star emblem.... It can't get any more impressive..
103 000ft climb. - 19.5 miles above the earth... What a feeling it must be.
This has my vote for best walk around video, 7 mins of walk around talking about stuff most of us don't understabd, 20 mins of awesome stories that you don't hear everyday. Awesome. Thank you for your service Sir, God bless you my friend. Thanks Erik, God bless you and yours too Sir. More vets and experiences would be awesome. These guy's passion and love for their aircraft is tangible.
I love stories from people that have lived a long and interesting life. He’s a great story teller and knows that aircraft like he still flies it.
I know it had a bad record but this has always been one of my favourite jet aeroplanes. Right up there with the English Electric Lightning.
The Lightning was strictly an interceptor that carried just two AAMs, some models had a gun but not too accurate. It was an entirely different aircraft and different role,
The CF104 was a ground attack aircraft. We used hundreds of them in Germany with the Canadian Air Force, our role was primarily to deliver a theatre sized nuke and conventional low level strike.
We operated them at low level, yes we lost quite a few. But when you fly a single engine aircraft at low level in heavily populated areas with mountains and tower etc, it was pretty dangerous
Exactly Mike. Any time man takes to the air, not his natural element, it is dangerous. Flying aircraft like the CF-104 is always dangerous and quite unforgiving. In this aircraft you were always pushing the extremities
of aircraft performance. Like a Formula 1 car, only the very best flew the CF-104 well or easily, yet they loved
it.
Germany wanted the F104 to be all purpose day/night fighter when it was designed as a high attack interceptor. The German pilots/crew wern't that experienced at the time as why the poor record. Other countries didn't have no where near the issues as the Germans. Check out the Wiki on it.
It actually has interceptor written on the vertical stabiliser. The plane is engineered to fly fast at high altitude. Eventually in the cold war it was not possible to survive at high altitudes so inappropriate aircraft were forced to use terrain masking. The Starfighter was an interceptor like the lightning and a not suitable for low level flying.
Small wings actually are what you want for high speed/low level work. Look at the TSR2 and the Jaguar.
Came here for a F-104 walkaround, got a veteran telling his tales.
Nice to listen to, thanks for sharing.
you made my day...finally i get it straight outta the horse's mouth..an experienced Starfighter pilot... WOW SO grateful and thankful for sharing this REAL LOWDOWN...built The Century Series Fighter Jets as a kid with his eyes in the Sky..The F-104 was one of my FAVORITE..i was 8 years old at the very beginning of the Jet AGe.....STILL with me......Happy Trails to you !!
Pilots like this are priceless they are true gem ! We love you Sir.
Hear Hear!!!
Thank you for your service! And I could listen to this pilot tell his stories all day long! I love hearing history from the source! Great video!
I'm just gonna throw this out there....you can be cool, but you NEVER be as cool as an ex 104 driver standing next to his jet while wearing a flight suit. Dave Groark reminds me a lot of my old man in his demeanor and mannerisms. Erik these videos you produce are a real treasure. Thank you for putting these out here for all of us to enjoy.
"driver" ?????
I lived in Victorville from '62 to '66, I'd always be outside when I heard the engines, to me there was never anything more thrilling than to see a squad of 104's go overhead, except maybe a squad of B58's witch would also fly out of George.
Rick Daly say's , That was a fun video , thank you ! When I was a kid , I lived in Sylmar California and remember a day in the early 50s , Lockheed was transporting a 104 from their plant in Burbank , along Foothill Blvd. and out of the San Fernando Valley to Palmdale Edwards . The flatbed trailer stopped at the intersection of Sayre st. and Foothill , They hadn't even covered it , it was beautiful polished skin , no wings . All the kids at that time were going to be Fighter Pilots !
Great story Christina, thanks for sharring
Christina Daly
Tell Rick: I seem to remember that the fuselage of the U-2 was an F-104 fuselage....one of Kelly Johnson's ideas. Perhaps the F-104 that you saw was on its way out to Dreamland to have those long wings of the U-2 attached. You mentioned "....a day in the early 50s..." That would have been the right time frame for building the U-2. Perhaps you were witnessing history in the making! A happy and safe new year, buddy! Take care.✌️. Jim in Columbia, MO.
@@dr.jamesolack8504 the dragon ladies airframe was based on the Starfighter but the skin was significantly thinner and it was overall much lighter.
This guy is awesome. I got a kick out of how he describes the thrust-to-weight ratio of a lightly loaded Starfighter, and how it could probably be stood up and flown away vertically. Well, do a search here for "Zero length launch Starfighter". The Germans strapped a rocket under a rail mounted Starfighter and successfully launched it. I would have loved to be at that first mission planning meeting.
It's such a great honor to hear story back in your days sir 🪖
Loved listening to this old timer talk. Thanks for your time.
That's guy is a badass. I could listen to him tell stories all day.
Would love to have a beer with Dave and Chuck while grilling some steaks and lookin at this bird! Thanks
Ha ha, not a bad idea. We might have to do that sometime.
RIP Chuck - the first man to beat the demon.
I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard of Jim Zumbo, the retired hunting editor of Outdoor Life. Zumbo knew Yeager and spent time with him at Zumbo’s home in Cody, Wyoming. Zumbo said Yeager was a very down to earth guy who much preferred drinking a beer and grilling a steak at Zumbo’s house over visiting with the mayor and town council of Cody despite being invited by the later to be the Grand Marshal of the Cody Forth of July parade. I always thought this was very telling of the man.
In training for Vietnamese operations I was sent to George AFB. It was a great place to be. Training for F4C&D's I'd get an occasional call-out for an F104 repair job. They leaked hydraulic fluid a good deal. The hydraulic system was unique in that it all the fittings were MS type fittings, all other AF fighter jets had 'AN' type fittings which rarely leaked. But those F104 'MS' hydraulic fittings always leaked. The fix was simple though, loosen it up, go get a cup of coffee, and then return to re-tighten the damn thing. Viola, no more leaking fitting at the B-nut.
Other than that, the plane was almost no maintenance or low maintenance. Very simple actuators, reservoir, and a piston type accumulator on a small hydraulic system. I always got a kick working on them, unlike my "affixed" J, AFC specialty code w/ the F4 -- those planes were easy work. Loved them.. never knew of any crashes or pilots getting killed, unlike the F4 Phantoms where I knew of many, but that was in a war.
When I was stationed at England AFB, Alexandria, Louisiana, working in Transient Alert, I had the distinct pleasure of servicing an F-104 that was flying cross-country. True story, the drag chute was not as easy to repack and I smashed my fingers trying to shove it back into the panel underneath the aircraft. But it was a beautiful aircraft and a sight to see, smashed fingers and all.
Dave, you absolutely gave the best summary of the 104. One thing missing... they were frigging noisy!! I was teaching courses in Baden-Soellingen Germany with 1st Canadian Air Group and these 104's were screaming over the base all the time. Couldn't teach with all the noise!
I remember that I panicked each time I heard one as a toddler
Hi Scott. I was at Baden Intermediate School in the mid-1970s when my Dad was an F104 pilot with the 439th Tigers. If you were my grade 3,4, or 5 teacher you would not have heard that distinctive J79 whine over my constant yapping :)
@@TimmyBoyAZ You must have been one hell of a screamer!! I was near the runway and the noise ate up perhaps 35% of my classroom time. Standing there in front of the students like an idiot when a squadron was around the base. Can you imagine a 104 flying into and out of a civilian airport in 2021?? The citizens would freak out!!! A Boeing or Airbus can barely be heard in comparison. Maybe the noise was good... I wouldn't want to be an enemy in the trenches when an 104 came over. The noise itself would scare the hell out of them!
Thank you so much for posting this! It's a piece of US aviation history for all aviation buffs to see.
Tremendous. I watched a 104 test flight as a kid. straight up out of sight from Canadair near Montreal. Love this walkaround!
Pilot David Groak's experience really shines, and he's not afraid to share it! I knew the legendary F-104 Starfighter was a gem, in spite of less experienced pilot's stories stories of problems flying this "man-strapped to a jet engine" craft. This pilot is a gem, too! Some of his descriptions like the effect of "blanking out" the high T-tail and why they are not used today, compressor boundary layers for the rear flaps, vertical climb possible with just 400 lbs. of fuel to maximize thrust-to-weight ratio, but needing to glide in when afterburners burned it all, require some aero familiarity, but their stunts like faking out East German interceptors on the runway, "clanking" their chromed "spurs" when walking to debriefing, and the M-61 Gatling guns (like AC-130?) really liven this up. Makes me respect that TAC Patch on his chest even more than my SAC patch (a little).
One of the most amazing planes ever. Thank you Dave for your service to our country
If we all started doing what the current US president does, the world would run out of spray tan in a week.
The coolest aircraft, cool pilot, excellent video. Many thanks for this.
Your very welcome
After an Armed Forces Day @ Dobbins in the 50s I saw an F-104 w/o wing tip tanks do a full burner takeoff & go vertical. It was a marvelous show & we could feel the burner heat from the roadside.
Its so awesome to hear men that actually flew in these aircrafts talk about them. So fascinating!!
Thanks for posting. My dad was a 104 IP in the mid to late 60's (with a year all expense paid trip to Vietnam in the middle). He absolutely loved that AC! If you ask him his favorite AC, he will say it is a toss up between the F-104 or the F-86. I can still hear that other worldly howl of the J-79.
Totally cool! After all the bad I’ve heard about the airplane, it is refreshing to hear from an expert! Truly a pleasure, sir!
thank you I really enjoyed hearing you time in the F104 with it's J-79 turbo-jet, who ever designed the downwards ejector seat!
great talk
Dave, SIR, I'll buy you a nice dinner if I'll ever meet you and you can tell me some more stories! Could listen to this guy forever!
Awesome!!! Nice to hear one of the "old school" F-104 drivers (no pun intended) hear what it was like to fly one of these birds. :)
This gentleman was awesome! Would love to sit and hear all his stories. Thank you for posting this video.
ASMA dArr
Ask greenamayr About
Sorry Android roneinst
I love his enthusiasm talking about his experiences , really nice guy all the best to you Sir
Great to have a pilot who flew the actual plane as a guide. Very nice video.👍
I was a small boy in the 60's. We would run out of the house and look up in the sky when we could hear a starfighter flying out of Kincheloe AFB.
Loved this guy
+William Carter Glad you liked it William. I've known Dave for around 25 years and he is one amazing guy.
+ErikJohnston Did he mention how many hours he had in the F-104?
Dave is totally awesome!
Thank you for the walkaround. I recall reading about the F-104 years ago and what has always stuck in my mind was the mention of how sharp the leading edge of the wings were, and that when the plane was on the ground, the wings would be covered in silk to prevent people from being injured. I don't understand how that would help, but the message was clear.
Expected to get bored fast, but stayed till the end. Such an accessible explanation of complex engine, aerodynamics, and maintenance concepts, along with historical tidbits.
This is a great video, and I thank you very much for taking the time to upload it. These stories from actual pilots are so much more memorable than the various documentaries and endless stock footage of F-104s doing various maneuvers. You really get the sense that he truly loved his airplane, and appreciates all the little details and things that made the Starfighter unique. It sort of feels like sitting down with your uncle or grandfather or whatever and having them tell you old war stories. Really well done and very intimate, I was not expecting this when I clicked on this video. Very wonderful! Thank you so much for bringing this piece of history to life.
Really glad you liked it. Ice known Dave for many years and have always loved listening to his experiences. He is a true Fighter Pilot.
7:50 - you can tell how much he loves airplanes. couldn't help it, he had to look lol
Thank you so much for posting!
I just love to hear these stories from pilots and flight crews. I spent 5 years in the Air Force, and once or twice a month the beer and the Bull would flow in the Orderly Room after hours at the 86th TFG HQ Sq at Rammstein. I loved these guys. The Vietnam vets would relive their missions, and some would tell of their imprisonment in the Hanio Hilton. I wish I had recorded those get togethers.
It was late summer of 1971. I was assigned to Field Station Rothwesten, an Army Security Agency intelligence base. Russian MiGs would dash over the border and make a photo run over the base. This day I missed spotting the MiG or MiGs. What did meet my eyes was the sight of two beautiful silver German Starfighters swooping down low, approximately 250 feet, over the antenna field. Clear blue sky and silver birds. I'll never forget that sight. By the way, the MiGs were long gone and back over east Germany. Thanks alot for posting this. Brought back a great memory.
I love the start up sequence of the "rocket with a man/woman in it. Thanks for the upload!
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting a Second Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Third Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Colonel Jacqueline Cochran, United States Air Force, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight during May and June 1964. During this period, Colonel Cochran established three world speed records in an F-104C Starfighter. Flying a precise circular course, Colonel Cochran set a 25-kilometer record of 1429.297 miles per hour, more than twice the speed of sound. She established a record for the 100-kilometer course by flying at 1302 miles per hour. Colonel Cochran established a third world's speed record by achieving 1135 miles per hour over a 500-kilometer course. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Colonel Cochran reflect great credit upon herself and the United States Air Force.
Colonel Jacqueline Cochran wki
Good question, A movie would be deserving, but hollywood would mess it up. Her bio will have to do for now. Check out more of Jachqueline Cochran on wiki she was an amazing aviatrix. Have a great day!
www.biography.com/people/jacqueline-cochran-9252061
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Cochran
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this.
We got the same treatment from an f-104 pilot from the military museum in Calgary Alberta Canada.
It was for my son's birthday but wow it was amazing just like this guy.
I wish I remembered the gentleman's name.
Great walkaround. Very knowledgeable and entertaining pilot. My favorite part was when he talked about an Edwards test pilot called "Fish" Salmon.
'Stalling at Mach 2' - lol, get outta here - what an aircraft. I ain't stalled above 50 kts. This guy is brilliant - should get him on Aircrew Interviews.
He's talking about a compressor stall, not an AOA stall. When you're flying at Mach 2 the most of the engine thrust is being used just to overcome drag. If the engine compressor stalls then the aircraft will slow down so fast from the drag that it's like hitting a brick wall.
@Dylan torre lópez There was actually prototype with adjustable inlet vanes, but it never saw production.
Thanks! Kelly Johnson designed the sexiest aircraft ever built by the hand of Man, no question. I would have sold my soul to fly one.
amazing explanation. as a mechanic in training i love his stories about the design of this beast
Another American Hero!
Who puts up a thumbs down? I don’t understand. If you don’t like it don’t watch.
Fantastic guy!
15:58 *LMFAO* _Shots Fired!_ like a boss
In the Army in 1971 I did convoys into Ramstein AFB and the first time there, we drove right past a German F104 parked at the entrance to the tarmac. (Also drove by taxiing F4 Phantoms which our guys flew). I was familiar with the F104 because of a Walter Cronkite Air Power TV special when i was a teen about the development of the F104 which I never forgot.
Dave's sporting an F-105 100 Mission patch. Dying to hear his stories about the Thunderchief
His interview is on my channel. It’s a much older video
I was in T.A.C. Recon with the 12th and 91st sq's. We had the RF-4RC's.
"Does the color of the sky mean anything special to you? When I close my eyes, the sky in my dream is a deep dark blue."
So much yes
These old boys are the best. I've had the good fortune of running into a few and hearing about their experiences at various officers clubs. The Auger Inn at Randolph was a magnet for them. I got to shake Ralph Parr's hand there. I was too awestruck to say or do anything else. These old warriors love to talk about airplanes and are more than willing to share their stories with anyone who wants to listen. I'm a former KC-135 nav and have enjoyed many free beers courtesy of old Vietnam-era F-4 and F-105 drivers who swore they were "saved" by tanker crews willing to venture into hostile airspace to keep them them from flaming out. It didn't matter that I joined the AF in 1990... They felt a debt of gratitude and were eager to pay it to anyone in the tanker community. Talk to these guys and thank them while you can - they won't be around forever...
Too True Awesome story my friend! Thank you very much for sharing it. Thank you for your service!!
You can tell by listening, that this fighter pilot formed a lasting "bond" with his F-104s !!
When he talks about his zoom flight to 92,000 feet he talked about having to shut the engine down. As i recall from the NF-104 program (rocket starfighter) they had to shut the engine down in the thin upper atmosphere or the spooling engine would cause the plane to gyroscopically precesse and fall out of the sky. This is precisely what happened to yeager. He shut the engine down too late and the windmilling engine created adverse yaw. Plus, he didn't maintain the correct attitude with RCS. The air force buried the real reason for the crash (pilot error) and blamed it on the plane. They shut the nf-104 program down because of the crash. The air force couldn't have their golden poster child pilot almost get killed and it be his own fault. If you don't believe me go to the webpage nf104.com. All the information is there. Yeager screwed up and he was lucky to live. It was real close.
mindeloman I do believe you and your. Or text!! Thanks for posting that info my friend !!!
That is so cool that you brought that up. My grandpa is the guy walking Yeager to the plane in all those historical photos jetpilotoverseas.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/chuck-yeager-and-lockheed-nf-104-starfighter-1963/ , Lt COl Ralph Richardson. He said Yeager was the cocky-est SOB is the Air Force and did know him well. Grandpa said that he crashed because he was off on his entry angle and that's why he lost the airplane. Yeager was almost killed and badly burned. I was given grandpa's flight jacket that is in this picture, it;s super cool to see that X-15 patch, the patch on the right side is the SR-71/F12 test force. Those guys are HARD CORE
Was the program cancelled after Yeager's 1963 crash. There's mention the third plane after rocket failure in 1971 led to the retirement.
@ BC - I'll refer you to NF104.com and Bob Smith's assessment. Bob was the primary test pilot on the AST program. - "Chuck’s misunderstandings of the technology are confirmed in his personal assessment of the events, along with flight data, thus he placed himself in double jeopardy. Yeager’s first mistake might have been overconfidence, but his biggest was the drive to reacquire the limelight that had escaped him in that era. Ironically, the media attention because of the NF-104 accident triggered a resurgence in Yeager's public profile and led to a period of TV commercials. As a result, the usefulness of the AST was lost; others were blamed for mistakes, not of their making; and ultimately the project died after we wasted money and a year in my flying over 100 added test flights after the accident. Those were of limited value, except to distance the Board President, Colonel Guy Townsend, from any future AST accidents, while avoiding Chuck’s wrath by exonerating him. To further avoid any career impacts, the president put the AST back into operation with a restrictive program, which offered no realistic training but avoided the political risks. In addition to the tests, he directed costly and ineffectual modifications, for over a year, before approving AST for training on profiles so limited that the intent to learn space flying had been overridden. The remaining two ASTs were finally delivered to the school and until one of them was lost resulting in cancellation of the project, without fanfare, without any beneficial achievements, and without making any waves!"
mindeloman, it's a good site and I've been reading but can't find an end date other than what the NF-104 page alludes to on wikipedia about the 1971 issue. Maybe the NF continued to fly until then but only in the limited usefulness flights mentioned? I wouldn't be surprised since the X-15 continued onto late 1968.
I'm also going to compare an interview Yeager did about the flight to see if he's consistent.
www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/NF104-Yeagerinterview.htm
No one mentioned what a great name this had- Starfighter-
I would love to pay this gentleman 1 or 2 beers to listen to all this storys. Great storys !
It always fascinates me the level of engineering that went into the main wing. Incorporating hard points and tip tanks couple with LE/TE flaps in a wing that only 4 inches thick at the route. The plumbing for the fuel alone boggles the mind! All on an aircraft that can pull high G. Amazing technology for the time.
I really like these walkarounds with the pilots!
Speaking of ejecting: This is a A (original s/n 56-0826) model, but it appears to be fitted with a partly dismantled Martin-Baker Mk5 or 7 seat, and NOT the M-B GQ-7 seat some Europeans 104s were fitted with. All American and many other 104s were fitted with Lockheed C-2 seats.
orangelion03 Good catch! This 104 was actually pieced together from several airframes I believe. Believe it or not, the seat in this one is actually a seat from an OV-10 Bronco. Ha
Thanks Erik! Broncos were fitted with a Rockwell seat with a considerably different head-rest area...but OV-1 Mohawks were fitted with a version of the M-B Mk5, which would look like this one.
orangelion03 maybe it was the OV-1 then. your probably right. Thanks for that, you sure know your stuff about ejection seats.
Thanks =) It started off as an interest when I was a kid...I was given a book on the XB-70 when I was 8 and I was fascinated with the escape pods on the airplane. Eventually it became a sort of hobby. Eventually led me to a job with McDonnell-Douglas Escape Systems as a test engineer on ACES and Minipac programs.
orangelion03 You might want to chat with a friend of mine. He's on Facebook, Chris Woodul. he's seriously into seats and cockpits.
Tremendous video, really interesting guy.
From a kid here in the UK I've always loved the Starfighter, I used to see them flying off the Essex coast, but I've never really been able to get to the bottom of just how good/safe they were? I know the Germans lost over 200 of them which a recent video cited as being down to "operational reasons." What "operational reasons?"
Thanks for this video! Colonel Groark is awesome. Wonderful insights on this wonderful plane. Could listen to him all day.
My favorite bird of all-time! Never forget seeing on at Lackland Basic Training in 1976 but sadly it is now gone. Dave Groark is truly a BAD ASS...love his stories! Man, to have a beer with this guy!
When it was designed it was the world's best interceptor. Some people must have thought it was WWII to use these for ground support. When used as a fighter, it was the best. I'm not sure what the Germans thought they were buying because they lost the most.
It earned the nickname "widow bomber". It was not proofen if the german minster of defense at this time received a bribe from Lockheed like in Italy,Japan and the Netherlands.
Very interesting, but the odd angle of the camera make the 104 look as long as a Vigilante :)
I use a Gopro for my walkaround videos. I agree about the different angle, but it allowes me to get close and still get more of the plane in frame
Adding Spurs to keep a pilots legs from getting “shaved” during ejection was a great side note. Being twenty something and driving a fighter like this would have put the cocky factor in the red zone. Walking into the building with your spurs clicking would have been icing on the cake.