Much cleaner propellant than that big JATO on the F-104.
Posted on 08/30/2019 7:38:25 AM PDT by NorthMountain
Video of an unusual/experimental method of launching the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.
Runway? RUNWAY??? We don't need no stinkin' runway!
I missed that.
RIP.
There’s a LOT of cool stuff on that YT channel!
On the autobahns there are spots where a couple of fork lifts and several hours of work places can be converted to temporary runways. Unless you knew what you were looking for, you’d never see the hammer head and underground fuel storage at one end of the strip. Spotted at least six of them while I was there and suspect there were many more.
I remember those things being referred to as “flying coffins”; apparently they were a bear to drive. From the “Decoder” blog:
“Problems began to arise almost from the beginning of the introduction of the aircraft into Luftwaffe service. At the time of the introduction of the Starfighter in 1961, there were two crashes. An intensification of flying regimens saw an increased accident rate with the type. As the years progressed, so did the number of crashes in the type. The year 1962 saw seven crashes, 1964 saw 12 F-104s lost, and in 1965 nearly 28 aircraft were lost in accidents. The lost rate calculated to nearly two aircraft lost each month. In 1966, sixty one F-104Gs would crash claiming the lives of thirty five Luftwaffe pilots. The alarming rate of loss of the aircraft soon became known as the ‘Starfighter Crisis’ with alarming records surfacing. The Crisis would peak with a loss rate of 139 aircraft for every 100,000 flying hours. The unsafe nature of the aircraft in Luftwaffe service sent the German media into a feeding frenzy giving the type derogatory nicknames such as Witwenmacher ‘Widowmaker’, Fliegender Sarg ‘Flying Coffin’, Fallfighter ‘falling fighter’ or Erdnagel ‘Ground Nail’. The surrounding controversy over the accident rate of Luftwaffe Starfighters also led to the rather unflattering joke of How does one own a Starfighter? Just buy property anywhere in West Germany and wait and sooner or later one would crash into the property.
“The problem of the Starfighter Crisis, lie in the fact that the aircraft was extremely unforgiving in cases of pilot error and was extremely sensitive to control inputs. At the time of the types introduction, the F-104G was one of the most technologically sophisticated designs to enter service with the fledgling Luftwaffe and many of the pilots and ground crews of the Luftwaffe were accustomed to civilian jobs at the end of the Second World War. The lapse in aviation operations threw many pilots beyond the learning curve and they failed to keep up with the technological advances of jet powered aviation. As a response to this Luftwaffe pilots were sent to relatively short refresher courses in first generation jet aircraft which were underpowered in terms of the supersonic plus Starfighter. Luftwaffe ground crews were also introduced to the type with minimal to no maintenance experience on turbine engines, a reflection of the problem of national conscription into military service. As crews would come up to speed in learning to maintain the type, their service obligations would be completed and they returned to civilian life requiring a new technician to learn the maintainers course from the beginning.”
Just as impressive was the land CATOBAR.
I’ve eondered what the runway potential for our Inter-State highways is.
I’ve eondered what the runway potential for our Inter-State highways is.
Fascinating. They must have used rubber propellant in that large JATO rocket with all that black smoke.
I wonder why this didn’t catch on. Would have been a lot cheaper than spending all that money on the F-35 VTOL version. (jk)
Zero air flow over the wings at take off! Zero controllability. It’s amazing the thing was stable enough to get up to sufficient speed to get air flow and control. It must have been like trying to balance a yardstick on the tip of your finger...except you had zero ability to move to hold balance.
Much cleaner propellant than that big JATO on the F-104.
Thanks. Interesting info about why post-WW II Germany had so many problems with the F-104. I was unaware of that.
Fantastic! Thank you for posting.
My Dad flew them and loved them.
Only ONE YEAR from prototype contract to a flying prototype! Kelly was the most amazing designer and leader ever, truly one of a kind.Cold War: Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
The F-104 Starfighter traces its origins to the Korean War where US Air Force pilots were battling the MiG-15. Flying the North American F-86 Sabre, they stated that they desired a new aircraft with superior performance. Visiting American forces in December 1951, Lockheed's chief designer, Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, listened 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 several 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 air superiority fighter that utilized the lightest airframe possible. Emphasizing performance, the Lockheed design was presented to the USAF in November 1952. Intrigued by Johnson's work, it elected to issue a new
proposalRequest For Proposals 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 competition and received a prototype contract in March 1953.With construction of the prototype complete, the XF-104 first took to the sky on March 4, 1954 at Edwards Air Force Base. Though the aircraft had moved quickly from the drawing board to the sky, an additional four years were required to refine and improve the XF-104 before it became operational. Entering service on February 20, 1958, as the F-104 Starfighter, the type was the USAF's first Mach 2 fighter.
I watched those crazy pilots zooming down the Rhein Valley doing nape of the earth flying in the 104, it isn’t any wonder they had so many crashes. Hot doggin like a flash.
The Luftwaffe was abolished in 1945 and wasn't reformed until the 1960s, when they got these. In retrospect it might have been better if they'd worked up to the F-104.
But it was a dangerous plane for Americans, too, with one of the highest accident rates of any jet. The great Chuck Yeager was severely burned and lost two fingertips ejecting from an F-104 after he lost control.
Of course the jet engine was also screaming at takeoff. Launch angle helped get it far enough away from terra firma until those tiny wings bit into some air.
Still way cool.
No steering, no gimbaled rockets, no attitude control system, no attitude control thrusters! Yikes! Just hoping to get that “bite” in the air before the thing veers off in some random direction.
The first guy to try that take off had some big ones.
My Dad was at the Skunk Works at lot in the Mid Sixties as a Logistics officer in the Air Force. It’s the reason my twin brother and I were born in California.
He still has a photo of an SR-71 autographed to him by C.L. “Kelly” Johnson...
Didn’t realize how important the signature was until my brother explained who he was.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.