Photo by John Lackey  #avgeek    

Originally shared by Fly By Photography

Fast Jet Friday!

Today’s fast jet is the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Developed in the mid 1950s, the F-104 made its first flight on 17 February 1956. It entered service with the US Air Force in 1958. The last F-104s in military service were finally retired by the Italian Air Force in late 2004.

The Starfighter is a single engine aircraft, propelled by a General Electric J79 turbojet producing 15,600 pounds of thrust in afterburner. The Starfighter was able to achieve Mach 2.2. The Starfighter was commonly called “The Missile With A Man In It.”

The F-104 Starfighters in my photo are civilian owned by a company name Starfighters Aerospace. Their primary business is supporting NASA and commercial space flight developers. For a brief time in the late 2000s, they also performed at airshows.

This photo was taken at the 2008 Joint Services Open House at Andrews Air Force Base.

“The Starfighters”
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