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.
Stuff the mightiest turbojet into the tiniest airframe possible, and just get it to fly because the amount of thrust to weight ratio literally keeps the jet in the air. Talk about walking a fine line. Kelly Johnson held nothing back with his design.
Somewhere around late '91, was hopping home from a deployed site through NAS Sigonella. Weather moved in right after we landed. Listened as an F-104 made a couple approaches but couldn't land due to not seeing the runway. Couldn't even see him from the base of the tower on the go round. The Tower comm was playing on a speaker outside base ops. Enough fuel for one more try then he was bailing out due to fuel. Somehow put it on the ground, couldn't even see him on the runway from the ramp.
As long as that candle stays lit...
ReplyDeleteYou have to stand next to an F104 to appreciate how small they really are.
ReplyDeleteStuff the mightiest turbojet into the tiniest airframe possible, and just get it to fly because the amount of thrust to weight ratio literally keeps the jet in the air. Talk about walking a fine line. Kelly Johnson held nothing back with his design.
ReplyDeleteIts pretty much the same as stuffing a Ford Cobra Jet engine in an AC chassis.
ReplyDeleteF-104, Kelly Johnson's version of a hot rod; a big engine and a spare U-2 fusilage with itty-bitty wings.
ReplyDeleteThe F-104 lawn dart.
ReplyDeleteExile1981
Glide ratio: DNA
ReplyDeleteIt’s around 9:1 which is not too bad…
Deletehigh landing speed I suppose? gotta be...
ReplyDeleteI dont think you fly it... you point it
ReplyDeleteNicknamed "the missile with a man in it".
ReplyDeleteAl_in_Ottawa
Also well known as the widowmaker
Deleteel néné...........
Starfighters International operates a fleet of them. https://starfighters.net/
ReplyDeleteRemember a Temporary duty to Germany in late 70s and the German Air Force were using them.
ReplyDeleteMost of the F-104's crashes happened on landing. Easy to stall such small wings.
ReplyDeleteNo guns, missiles only?
ReplyDeleteSomewhere around late '91, was hopping home from a deployed site through NAS Sigonella. Weather moved in right after we landed. Listened as an F-104 made a couple approaches but couldn't land due to not seeing the runway. Couldn't even see him from the base of the tower on the go round. The Tower comm was playing on a speaker outside base ops. Enough fuel for one more try then he was bailing out due to fuel. Somehow put it on the ground, couldn't even see him on the runway from the ramp.
ReplyDelete