And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
One F-104 pilot (at an air show in Gila Bend AFAF) described to me that the plane had "Ironing Boards" for wings. He was in one of, if not the last, Starfighter squadrons left in the CONUS. The 69th TFTS, Luke AFB, AZ,in fact. I believe I still have a picture of him, standing on the parking ramp, leaning against the Sidewinder rail in a rather jocular manner. Imagine that.
These are Italian F-104Gs, at least the bottom two are, so I expect that the one on top is as well. My brother started in an USAF F-104C (the G model was an export design) and loved it.
And yes, it was quite popular with the Luftwaffe, but for a time there was a rash of crashes, later explained by a problem in the oxygen system (pilots would pass out and crash). I remember the dark joke at the time was that if you wanted your own F-104, all you had to do was to buy an acre of land and wait for one to crash on it.
Yellow and black "camo" on the F-104 just doesn't work for me.
ReplyDeleteIt's the new "Flying Circus."
DeleteThe Germans really loved the F-104 (rocket with stubby wings).
ReplyDeleteOne F-104 pilot (at an air show in Gila Bend AFAF) described to me that the plane had "Ironing Boards" for wings. He was in one of, if not the last, Starfighter squadrons left in the CONUS. The 69th TFTS, Luke AFB, AZ,in fact. I believe I still have a picture of him, standing on the parking ramp, leaning against the Sidewinder rail in a rather jocular manner. Imagine that.
ReplyDeleteThese are Italian F-104Gs, at least the bottom two are, so I expect that the one on top is as well. My brother started in an USAF F-104C (the G model was an export design) and loved it.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, it was quite popular with the Luftwaffe, but for a time there was a rash of crashes, later explained by a problem in the oxygen system (pilots would pass out and crash). I remember the dark joke at the time was that if you wanted your own F-104, all you had to do was to buy an acre of land and wait for one to crash on it.
ReplyDelete