Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>F-104>HA1048

General Background

The F-104 Starfighter was a revolutionary design with short razor-sharp wings. It was the first aircraft to be able to maintain Mach 2 not just in short bursts. The Starfighter shattered speed and rate of climb records that still are impressive today. 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

Constructed in 1966 this TF-104G was delivered to the West German Air Force in 1967. It was registered as DF+365 and then KF+239 until 1967 when it became 28+09. In 1975 the aircraft was sold to NASA and on July 2 was coded as NASA 825 civil registration N825NA. In April 1989 the aircraft was placed in flyable storage until October 1993. The aircraft’s last flight was on February 1, 1994 and was withdrawn from NASA’s inventory and stored. In 1997 the aircraft was located at Moffett Federal Airfield.

Specifications :

Manufacturer:	Lockheed
Designation:	F-104G Starfighter
Crew:	1 (pilot)
Length:	16.66 M.
Height:	4.09 M
Wingspan:	6.63 M
Wing Area:	18.22 Sq. M
Empty weight:	6345 Kg.
Gross weight:	9362 Kg.
Max. weight:	13171 Kg
Range:	1754 Km
Cruise Speed:	821 km/h
Max. Speed:	1844 km/h
Climb:	14,630 M/min
Ceiling:	15240 M.
Wing loading:	563kg/m2
Powerplant:	1General Electric J-79-GE-11A (A/B 7,067 Kg.)
Thrust:	4356 Kg