Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>F-104>HA1042

General Background

The F-104 Starfighter was an military aircraft with revolutionary designs. It had short razor-sharp wings and was the first aircraft to be able to maintain Mach 2 not just in short bursts. This extremely high speed earned the plane the nickname "The Missile With A Man In It". Because of financial considerations 15 or more countries purchased the F-104. The Starfighter flew with the USAF in 1958 and the last airplane was decommissioned in Italy in 2004.

The Aircraft

F-104D (c/n 5038) 57-1326 “4166” was one of six F-104Ds purchased from the U.S. Air National Guard by the Republic of China that operated 244 Starfighters in total. The F-104Ds were used to equip the 427th TFW located at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base assigned to train pilots for combat missions using the Starfighter. All variants of the F-104 were retired in the early 1980s with some being sold to Jordan and Pakistan. 4166 was sent to the Aviation Technology School and later transferred to the Military History Museum.

Specifications :

Span:	21 ft. 11 in.
Length:	54 ft. 10 in
Height:	13 ft. 6 in.
Weight:	27,853 lbs. max
Armament:	One M-61 20mm cannon, two air-to-air missiles: nuclear or conventional bombs
Empty:	One General Electric J-79 of 15,800 lbs. thrust with afterburner
Crew:	One
Cost:	$1,471,000 (1950 & early 60's dollars)
Normal Performance:
Maxium Speed:	1,320 mph.
Cruising Speed:	576 mph.
Range:	1,250 miles
Service Ceiling:	58 000 ft