Questions tagged [f-104]
Designed by Lockheed’s ace engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson to surpass the MiG-15 fighters that had stunned the aeronautical world in Korea, the F-104 Starfighter was something completely different: an inexpensive lightweight fighter with thin seven-foot wings, sharp as the blade of a dagger.
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Why are the F-104's wings so short?
Why do the wings on the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter look relatively short? Is the smaller wingspan intended to reduce drag, kind of like in a delta wing, or is it for a different reason?
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What are these "holes" in the F-104 for?
In this video there are two "holes" that I'm curious about.
One is rectangular in the all white section of the plane that flutters open/close during flight. The other is somewhat oval and is ...
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What is this missile extended beneath an F-104 Starfighter?
On a video posted on YouTube there is a short clip of some sort of rocket-powered device - presumably a missile - extended beneath an F-104 on a mechanical sling. It must have been lowered into ...
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What is causing these "corners" on this F-104 V-n diagram?
In this V-n diagram for an F-104 (source: this Wikipedia link), on the left-hand edge of the flight envelope, what is causing the "corners" that we see at the following points? (Numbers are ...
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Why is the F-104 Starfighter’s afterburner thrust not greatly impacted by altitude?
Here is a page from the F-104 flight manual. It shows the flight envelope for the F-104 Starfighter with the powerful J79-GE-19 turbojet engine:
I have a question regarding the shape of the ...
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Why did the F-104 Starfighter have a T-tail?
The F-104 Starfighter was launched in 1954, nine years after WWII. It had short stubby wings and a T-tail. According to wiki, the short stubby wings caused inertia coupling and the T-tail reduced this....
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