FREE LOCKHEED F-104 STARFIGHTER PDF Jaroslaw Dobrzynski | 128 pages | 19 Apr 2015 | Mushroom Model Publications | 9788363678395 | English | Poland F Starfighter | Lockheed Martin Though the F set a multitude of airspeed and altitude records, it suffered from reliability issues and possessed a poor safety record. Briefly used in the Vietnam Warthe F was largely ineffective and was withdrawn in The F was widely exported and saw service with numerous other countries. Flying the North American F Sabrethey stated that they desired a new aircraft with superior performance. Visiting American forces in DecemberLockheed 's chief designer, Clarence "Kelly" Johnsonlistened to these concerns and learned firsthand the pilots' needs. Returning to California, he quickly assembled design team to begin sketching out a new fighter. Assessing Lockheed F-104 Starfighter design options ranging from small light fighters to heavy interceptors they ultimately settled on the former. Building around the new General Electric J79 engine, Johnson's team created a supersonic Lockheed F-104 Starfighter superiority fighter that utilized the lightest airframe possible. Intrigued by Johnson's work, it elected to issue Lockheed F-104 Starfighter new proposal and began accepting competing designs. In this competition, Lockheed's design was joined by those from Republic, North American, and Northrop. Though the other aircraft possessed merits, Johnson's team won the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and received a prototype contract in March Work moved forward on the prototype which was dubbed XF As the new J79 engine was not Lockheed F-104 Starfighter for use, the prototype was powered by a Wright J Johnson's prototype called for a long, narrow fuselage that was mated with a radical new wing design. Employing a short, trapezoidal shape, the XF's wings were extremely thin and required protection on the leading edge to avoid injury to ground crews. These were combined with a "t-tail" configuration aft. Due to the thinness of the wings, the XF's landing gear and fuel were contained within the fuselage. Later Lockheed F-104 Starfighter of the aircraft would incorporate up to nine pylons and hardpoints for munitions. Though the aircraft had moved quickly from Lockheed F-104 Starfighter drawing board to the sky, an additional four years were required to refine and improve the XF before it Lockheed F-104 Starfighter operational. Possessing impressive speed and climb performance, the F could be tricky aircraft during takeoff and landings. For the latter, it employed a boundary layer control system to reduce its landing speed. In the air, the F proved very effective at Lockheed F-104 Starfighter attacks, but less so in dogfighting due to its wide turning radius. The type also offered exceptional performance at low altitudes making it useful as a strike fighter. During the course of its career, the F became known Lockheed F-104 Starfighter its high loss rate due to accidents. This was particularly true in Germany where the Luftwaffe grounded the F in In this role the type suffered teething problems as the squadron's aircraft were grounded after a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter months due to engine issues. While issues persisted, the F became a trailblazer as the Starfighter set a series of performance records including world air speed and altitude. In use over Vietnam untilthe F failed to score any kills and suffered a loss of 14 aircraft to all causes. Lacking the range and payload of more modern aircraft, the F was quickly phased out of service with the last aircraft leaving USAF inventory in Other large buyers included the Germany, Italy, and Spain who bought the definitive FG variant beginning in the early s. In Germany, the F got off to a bad start due to a large bribery scandal that was associated with its purchase. Lockheed F-104 Starfighter reputation sank further when the aircraft began suffering from an unusually high accident rate. Though the Luftwaffe endeavored to correct problems with its F fleet, over pilots were lost in training accidents during the aircraft's use in Germany. As losses mounted, General Johannes Steinhoff Lockheed F-104 Starfighter the F in until solutions could be found. Despite these problems, export production of the F continued until Utilizing various modernization programs, Italy continued to fly the Starfighter until finally retiring it in Share Flipboard Email. Kennedy Hickman. Military and Naval History Expert. Kennedy Hickman is a historian, museum director, and curator who specializes in military and naval history. He has appeared on The History Channel as a featured expert. Facebook Facebook. Updated October 03, ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our. Lockheed XF Starfighter - Wikipedia The Lockheed F Starfighter served a greater role with air forces Lockheed F-104 Starfighter than it did with the USAF, though its operational service was not without issues. The Lockheed F was in many ways an engineering marvel whose legacy suffered terribly due to several internal and external circumstances, so much so, in fact, that the aircraft was dubbed the unflattering name of "Widowmaker". Despite its setbacks, the aircraft was a record-setter and found a home with many an air force around the globe. From the outset, the F was designed as a daytime supersonic air superiority fighter. Though air superiority eventually found its Lockheed F-104 Starfighter back into NATO control, the USAF was still left Lockheed F-104 Starfighter a capable and dedicated intercepting platform to combat the new Soviet fighter types effectively. As a result, Johnson set to work in to design a new aircraft based wholly on performance. This aircraft would mate the smallest and therefore lightest airframe to the most technologically advanced and powerful engine available. The resulting creation became the basis for the F Starfighter. An early proposal netted the liking of the USAF, which introduced several other aircraft firms into an open competition. The first of these two prototypes was made available for its first flight in February of Despite being designed for the General Electric J79 turbojet engine, availability of the GE powerplant forced these prototypes to fit with a license-production versions of the British Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire engine as the Wright XJW-6 series of 10,lbs thrust until the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Electric J79's were made available to the F The new jet-powered, post-war design was not without its issues however, and four years of development for the program would follow. At least 17 pre-production YFA aircraft were generated for the USAF to fulfill testing roles of the various problematic systems aboard the F and iron Lockheed F-104 Starfighter some resolutions before production would commence. Bythe first FA was made available for deliveries. These systems differed somewhat from their original design in that they sported a longer fuselage and were fitted with Lockheed F-104 Starfighter General Electric JGE-3 series engines of 14,lbs of thrust. Upon its induction into operational service, the Starfighter set about to cement a few "firsts" in its career. The aircraft became the first operational fighter Lockheed F-104 Starfighter capable of sustained flight at speeds past Mach 2 - twice the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter of sound. It eventually went Lockheed F-104 Starfighter to become the first aircraft to simultaneously Lockheed F-104 Starfighter the world speed and altitude records in its FA and FC forms. Major Howard C. Johnson, Lockheed F-104 Starfighter his FA, broke the altitude record by setting the new bar at 91, feet Lockheed F-104 Starfighter May 7th, An F Starfighter followed suit and set the new world air speed record on May 18th, The aircraft recorded a top speed of 1, The altitude record was then again bested - this time by an FC model - with a new ceiling ofLockheed F- 104 Starfighter. In this record setting endeavor, the Starfighter also Lockheed F-104 Starfighter the first aircraft to break thefoot barrier under its own power no rocket-assisted propulsion was needed. In this way, the Starfighter's Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was enriched with accolades than any Lockheed F-104 Starfighter would aspire to reach. Externally, the F Starfighter was Lockheed F-104 Starfighter a distinct aircraft design. The platform showcased an aerodynamic streamlined fuselage design that held all of the vital components weapons, avionics, undercarriage, engine, etc The powerplant made up most of the internal space, as did the fuel, and covered Lockheed F-104 Starfighter half of the tubular form. The front end was tapered to a sharp point while the cockpit tub was well-positioned in the forward part Lockheed F-104 Starfighter the design, offering up exceedingly good visibility when in flight or taxiing. The canopy consisted of three major components- a framed forward section, a center section opening to portside, and a rearward section. The single engine was fed by two small half-circle intakes along the sides of the fuselage, just aft of the cockpit. Lockheed F-104 Starfighter intake openings were fixed and not variable and were fitted with cones to regulate the turbojet airflow at high speeds. The undercarriage was completely allocated to the fuselage with the two main gears retracting into the fuselage portion near the wing roots and the nose wheel retracting into the fuselage portion under and behind the cockpit. Perhaps the most distinct element of the Starfighters design lay in the use of its straight, stubby wings that were only 4 inches at its thickest. Sweepback was only utilized on the leading edges and a slight anhedral was present to help combat "Dutch Roll", an aerial phenomenon that forces the aircraft sway or rock from side-to-side.