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One of my favorite airplanes and I miss their air show performances. This original is available. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Tweet— Twitter API (@user) date "On May 21, 1962, Armstrong was involved in what Edwards' folklore called the "Nellis Affair". He was sent in an Lockheed F-104 Starfighter to inspect Delamar Dry Lake, again for emergency landings. He misjudged his altitude, and also did not realize that the landing gear had not fully extended. As he touched down, the landing gear began to retract. Armstrong applied full power to abort the landing, but the ventral fin and landing gear door struck the ground, damaging the radio and releasing hydraulic fluid. Without radio communication, Armstrong flew to Nellis Air Force Base, past the control tower, and waggled his wings, the signal for a no-radio approach. The loss of hydraulic fluid caused the tail-hook to release, and upon landing, he caught the arresting wire attached to an anchor chain, and dragged the chain along the runway. It took thirty minutes to clear the runway and rig an arresting cable. Armstrong telephoned Edwards and asked for someone to collect him. Milt Thompson was sent in an F-104B, the only two-seater available, but a plane Thompson had never flown. With great difficulty, Thompson made it to Nellis, but a strong crosswind caused a hard landing and the left main tire suffered a blowout. The runway was again closed to clear it, and Bill Dana was sent to Nellis in a T-33 Shooting Star, but he almost landed long — and the Nellis base operations office decided that to avoid any further problems, it would be best to find the three NASA pilots ground transport back to Edwards. If the first man to walk on our Moon can experience a bad day, then I guess the rest of us can forgive ourselves when we drop the ball once in a while."
Mine too! As a kid I went out to Luke AFB in AZ and saw them fly in training. The West German pilots called them "Widowmakers"
I have conversed with a few F-104 pilots and seen a few air shows with them and they are an incredible airplane. From what I was told by F-104 pilots, you flew strictly by the book or you didn't survive it. Yep, it was called the "Widow Maker' and also, " The Missile With A man In It".
Comments on the F-104 and F-16 from the manufacturers were similar: "If we had known what you were going to do with it, we would have designed it differently." Turned lightweight fighters/interceptors into ground attack platforms.
To add a little bit to the F-104. The wing panel from the outer contour of the fuselage to the tip measured 7 1/2 feet and it was composed of 4 machined aluminum planks that were bolted together. The leading edge was so sharp they had to have protective sheaths on them when it was on the ground to keep ground crews from getting injured. On approach they had to carry 80% thrust to keep the blown flaps making enough lift to land. If you had power failure and the airspeed got below 245 Knots you were in a streamlined brick.
There was a team of F-104s that performed at airshows about 10 years ago. When they did a turnaround to come back to the airfield, the radius of those turns was so large it was ridiculous! One thing the F-104 was definitely NOT was a dogfighter!
The Buran, the stillborn Soviet space shuttle, in an abandoned state. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
