Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>F-104>HA1067

General Background

The F-104 Starfighter 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”. The F-104 was operated by approximately 15 countries. The Starfighter first flew with the USAF in 1958 and the last airplane was decommissioned in Italy in 2004.

The Aircraft

F-104G s/n 63-12716 c/n 683D-6068 first flew on August 21, 1964. On January 1965 the aircraft was shipped to Spain and assigned to the 61st Escuadrón on March 4, 1965 and with 19 hours flying time the aircraft transferred to the renamed 161 Escuadrón and coded 161-12. In 1967 the aircraft became 104-12 with 104 Escuadrón and in 1968 it became 104-02. In 1971 transferred to 122 Escuadrón and retired in May 1972. It was sent back to the USAF who later in 1972 sent it to Turkey where it crashed in 1974.

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