Five AMAZING Facts about the F-104 Starfighter

Video from the channel Palfarmer Aviation about Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 4:30. Language: English. Video type: Onboard.

Two volunteers linked to the Royal Netherlands Air Force, to the historic aircraft of Volkel air base and to the Dutch Starfighter Foundation, show an F-104 Starfighter and discuss several curiosities about the aircraft.

They show the wing's leading edge, so sharp it cuts a sheet of paper, and the intake cone, which was hidden in early photos for military secrecy and which slows supersonic air before it reaches the compressor.

They reject the nickname "widowmaker" and argue that, per 10,000 flight hours, it was safer than the F-84F. They also recall the nickname "missile with a man in it" and its records for speed, altitude and time-to-climb.