I flew nearly 1000 hours in this amazing machine.... Flying the CF 104 cannot be imagined. The thrust, responsiveness and guts built into this brilliant fighter will never be forgotten by those few who flew as Starfighter Pilots. Tiger 61, 439 Squadron.

The F-104 is still one of the most beautiful planes of all time. Its majestic

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate this guy's camera tracking skills?

A BIG THANKS FOR NO MUSIC. That engine is the music. That Starfighter always a classic.Nice paint job too.

It's crazy to think the F-104 was first designed 63 years ago. It still has a futuristic sci-fi look to it.

One more thing: Hats off to the man in the cockpit. Nothing more beautiful than an F104 being put thru its paces at the hands of a skilled pilot.

Goosebumps,... one of the most beautiful aircraft ever flown. Kelly Johnson certainly had a eye for aesthetics,the P38, F104 and Blackbird. In my opinion the best aircraft designer period.

There’s something truly special about this aircraft. Considering the era it came out it’s an amazing leap in technology. So many records were broken by the 104 that are still impressive today.

As a 20 years old I was privileged to assist Darryl Greenamyer manufacture needed SS brackets supports for the thrust rockets in the nose as well as the 200 brass spray water nozzles in the intakes to cool the air at 850 knots indicated. Was at World Record at Mud Lake to see that record that holds to this day. An honor to call him a friend.

......If my old memory still serves me correctly, the television news story of this airplane....flew from California to a central Texas Air Force base in 80 minutes. I am still amazed. One of the sleekest jets ever built.....Really enjoyed the sounds of this plane with no interference of music or announcers......Many thanks.....

No music, no chatter... excellent video. Many youtubers should take notes👍👍

My favorite jet when I was a kid. Had a little starfoam glider. Never thought anything looked as beautiful as an F-104. Thanks for posting this.

*NO music or talking* was both an added draw and a bonus for me. I know people may mean well but many-a-video has been completely RUINED because of some stupid-ass music or someone talking during relevant parts of a video. There's a LOT to be said for video's that don't have either . . .

this is the most perfect recording of stunt flight maneuvers I have ever seen. You kept the camera tracking beautifully. the absence of PA verbiage adds to the majesty. You did the pilot(s) and audience a great service for which I am grateful.

I remember watching one of these do a demo at an airshow standing next to an F4 pilot who kept saying "he's got to be getting low on fuel" over and over. One of my favorite aircraft of all time.

No music and no talking. Thumbs UP 👍🏾

Thank you! I needed that!!! I don't care what anyone else says, the F104 is still one of the most beautiful aircraft ever to take flight.

For years, the F 104 held both altitude and speed records, and it was created to be a super sonic, "high altitude interceptor" during a cold war environment and against long range nuclear bombers. In that role, it performed as promised. Altitudes of 110,000' to 118,000'+ were achieved by experienced pilots with velocities of mach 2+. Also, the F 104 piloted by Mike Korte made the first inflight refueled trans-continental flight from California to Spain. Mike held the USAF F-104 combat record with 138+ combat missions. The Star Fighter was not intended to be a "knife fighter" in a dog fight, but to go faster and higher more quickly than anything before it and shoot down approaching Soviet nuclear aircraft. Its fighting principle was based on "speed is life" combat roles, and it was ill suited for slow or low fighting missions. Like taking a long range high velocity sniper rifle into an "in your face" pistol and knife fight, often, the F 104 was inappropriately used by leadership of lesser knowledge and skill.

The simplicity, purity, and elegance of the F-104, built to be a pure interceptor, is something that the current crop of F-35 designers can not comprehend. A pure and simple tool, built to done job and do it well.

F-104, my all time favorite jet. It was a beauty and set a lot of records.

The sound of that engine and that whistle is all the music this video needs.

A true aficionado. Thanks for not adding music.The f-104 is a magnificent bird.

As a child was at all RCAF stations in Europe. Dad took me Many times airside to sit in the planes at Lahr and Baden. Some of the Starfighter paint jobs were fantastic. Cherished memories.

By a very large margin, the most aesthetically beautiful jet ever made...those lithe lines!!

Cool video. This is one of the planes operated by the Starfighters Group. I have worked on a couple of their engines, and have some videos of us operating them in our test cell. One interesting tidbit is that their engines are the only ones we test that have what are called standard combustor liners, and this is the cause of the black smoke. You can see the difference between these and the "low-smoke" liners in other J79 tests I have posted. To see the engine in this plane, and others, you could take a look at a playlist called The J79 Turbojet Engine. Cheers !

The 104 looks exactly like what a jet should look like. Beautiful plane.

What a beautiful jet! Memories of air shows past when the Starfighter was the star of the show. Your choice of sound accompaniment was perfect! Just perfect!

THANK YOU for "no music or talking." :) So many videos of this type are ruined by talking or music. The sound of the fabulous plane is all we need.

When I was stationed in Germany in the late 70's, the Germany Air Force still flew f104's. They flew so low you could clearly see the pilots faces. Sometimes they would light their afterburners. Very very cool, and loud! U.S f4's would make mock runs on our tank positions, peel off and go afterburner. Never got tired of all that. It was way cool.

The P-51 Mustang and the Lockheed F-104 were two of my favorite aircraft to draw when I was a kid in grammar school....loved it....

it looks a little ungainly sitting on the ground but the profile of the 104 in flight, I think is the most incredible aircraft design ever made. It looks like a winged dagger. Beautiful.

I pass an F104 parked on the tarmac on my way from Salisbury to Baltimore as a small airport in Cambridge, I think. I imagine myself in it flying every time I go by. It is second only to the SR71 as my favorite creation from the Skunkworks.

I built a model of this a kid, it is awe inspiring to see it fly here. Especially because the pilot deploys the air brakes several times (the doors on either side that open up behind the wing). Also, thank you for not putting a soundtrack over the top of the footage, the engine is music to my ears! I had the chance to stand next to a static display at the Castle Air Museum in California. There were no missiles or wing pods on it and it showed just how small the wings are (as well as thin and sharp) compared to the massive engine. I walked around it several times because it looks almost impossible to fly with so much body and so little wing.

F-104 was the first jet I ever touched at Flint Bishop Airport air show 1979. I was 4 and remember how sharp the leading edge on those little wings were.

I saw two of these aircraft flying low in formation at an airshow at Prestwick airport in Scotland back in the early 70's When they were out of sight of the airfield they made a sound that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It was spooky and weird. I have never heard an aircraft like it. Unfortunately I never heard it here on the video. Hats off to all the people keeping this fantastic aircraft alive for future generations to enjoy. Thanks Xrm150

They used to either build or do maintenance on the CF-104's at a facility near my old high school. When those things took off or flew over none of us were paying attention to the teachers. We were glued to the windows.

Thank you so much for keeping the amazing sound of that machine ! It sounds as music !

Why would anyone down vote this?? It is EXACTLY as the title says..... ffs, some ppl just hate life.

Gorgeous! One of my former colleagues at Lufthansa, when he served in the Luftwaffe, was in an F-104 unit in the late 60's or in the 70's. He loved that aircraft!

Really outstanding video recording work. Plane is almost always centered in the field of view. I also agree that no annoying music is a nice change.

It looks like this plane is having a hard time NOT going supersonic.

The most aesthetically 'beautiful' lines of any airplane. Thanks for posting this great vid!!

A+! Great camera work, and best of all, no stupid music, and a minimum of self-important babble from people in the crowd who just HAVE TO be the center of attention! Refreshing just to hear the sounds of an incredible aircraft.

Nothing compares to a top notch military pilot putting his machine through it's paces. Well Done Sir!

The F-104 is yet another feather in the cap of the great Kelly Johnson.

90% of an airshow is the sound of the engines. Great to have no music or talking ruining that!

The F 104 program paid my rent for 5 years! I was on the MAP program from the proposal! I got to see a lot of Europe and meet a lot of neat people! the Germans down at Luke were the best pilots and men I've known in my life!

Old Luftwaffe joke: Q. How do you get an F-104? A. Buy a field and wait...

"A missile with a man in it." Beautiful jet, superb video. I commend you for not adding music. The J-79 soundtrack is all I want to hear. You could teach a lot of others how to make a jet demo video. Good job.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the pure sound. No $@#$@%& rock music. -Former fighter pilot.

Finally a great video with no talking thank god or music

Growing up in the ‘50s & ‘60s, I was very much aware of the F1104 Starfighter! It’s still one of the most beautiful designs ever! Even though it was reportedly a “handful” during landing.

Now that's how you make a great action video on KZfaq!!! Perfect "no music or talking" format. I hope others learn from your excellent presentation!

Love that plane. Tough to fly though. Many met their maker after losing control. I’m not a pilot, but have always been an airplane guy. I first saw this plane in a picture in an encyclopedia when I was in fifth grade in 1968. In the photograph, it was on the ground being loaded with belt ammunition. Looked wicked.

I grew up in an air force family and my grandfather gave me a model F-104 which fueled my boyhood dreams for years. Love this plane.

What a graceful and beautiful aircraft. Especially like that this vid has no music or talking. Thanks for that.

Sweet. And they let the flying stove pipe sing her own music!

One of my favorite classics. I would love to see what Lockheed could do to the design with modern airframe materials, avionics, and engine technology. Absolutely nothing wrong with the design, just wondering how it would fair with the new stuff. If any of the current generation pilots are like me, they'd be eyeballing it like it was their daddy's classic Corvette.

Some years ago at a local aviation show an F-15 flew by at nearly mach 1. We were headed for our car at the time but I watched my 13-year-old daughter stop and jump with joy as the airplane flashed by. She became an instant fan of F-15s.

A great video. When I was in high school my next door neighbor was Glenn Reaves, a Lockheed F-104 test pilot. Got to see him perform at Edwards AFB one year and also got to watch from the Palmdale control tower during a night training flight for German pilots. Thanks for the video; it was a trip down memory lane.

USAF: We need a fast fighter-interceptor. Skunk Works: Hold our beer.

The infamous "Flying Coffin", beautiful aircraft, the whistle is amazing.

One of the most appealing planes ever made - thank you for this video.

I was assigned to the 479 TFW TFW, which spent time in Danang, Vietnam in 1965-66. Then as the 435th TFW in Thailand. I would always stop and listen as those planes flew overhead. No matter how long I worked on them I never tired of hearing the whistle of that J79. It had a fantastic WHOOOOOOO sound while taxiing. The previous poster who mentioned the leading edge wing guards is correct. The leading edge was definitely sharp enough to slice your arm, I know. I scored a test flight in a D model. Best experience of my life!

How I got on this page after searching for my wife's instant pot recepies is amazing. Great find for me and I didn't end up finding what she wanted. Great plane and video!

A Wonderful Plane. The Sound is great. This Plane where very long time in the German Luftwaffe. I see very many F104 in the 1980 and 1990 time.

Awesome. We just received a pair of J-79s at work last week. Can't wait to hear them at the test cell.

I had never seen an F-104 do a flight demo before. With those stubby wings I was beginning to doubt whether they could even fly. Spectacular!

The jet of my dreams. I would pretend that my bike was an F-104 when I was 10 years old.Thanks for sharing. I still dream about this great plane.

Beautiful aircraft, fabulous shape and the paint job is fantastic.

Decades later, it still looks futuristic, great design Kelly, you and Skunkworks were ahead of your time.

Thanks for a great video. It brought back fond memories of Edwards AFB, where I used to work in 1962 on the X-15 project. The 104's were used as chase planes for the X-15 flights. I'll never forget the sound of those J-79's... gave me 'chills' when I watched......

This plane is TO COOL = AND THE SOUNDS ARE ASTONISHING... WHATS NOT TO LOVE = SHES GOT IT ALL...

Thank you so very much for sharing this, the beauty and sound of this aircraft is just moving

My old dad worked with the c104 at prestwick in Scotland this aircraft is etched into my soul...beautiful

My favorite! Thanks for posting this video. They had an F104 on static display when I was at Lackland. I drooled every time I walked by!

Ahhhhhh, the sound of FREEDOM!! Great video, thank you!

I love Starfighters !

Damn, that is beautiful. I pulled emergency egress on an Italian pilot (in Turkey, 1980), from an F-104. Beautiful bird. Thank you for the post!

They couldn't have picked a better name for the 104, Starfighter is so perfect. Great video!

Another masterpiece by Kelly Johnson and the LSW. Agree with the others here. Great camera work.

I was at an airshow a few years where one of the performed. The moment I remember was when it came down the runway, very low, on full afterburner. There was an an exhaust plume of blue-orange fire filled with shock diamonds about 30 feet long. Really cool.

The 104 was a sleek shiny sports car you flew. Lol loved them as a kid.

Hands down, the best flight video on KZfaq! Camera work of professional quality!

What a classic design - it's literally just a jet engine (one of the best ever made to boot) with a dude on the front and just barely enough wings to keep it pointing the right way.

Most iconic silhouette of a fighter ever 👍

I just love the F104 and this howl sounds are eargasm!

Starfighter way ahead of its time. Just mind boggling to think this thing came out in the 50's!

Nothing on earth sounds or smokes like the J79, Liked seeing speed brakes open when he turned. and First bird to mount the 20mm Vulcan

The performance numbers for this aircraft were crazy. USAF and Norway when used as high altitude interceptors, used them with a pressure suit for the pilot. Example: going well above Mach 1 at 77,000ft, with good fuel economy. Calculate the effective ground speed (time--distance) !!!!!!!!!!

As a kid in the '50s, I just loved these things. I remember its claim to fame was that it could climb as fast as it could fly horizontally, not to mention it looked so cool!

This reminds me of my childhood, we had a f104 base close to our house. The sound I will never forget. I wanted to become a fighte pilot too but was not accepted.

I’m trying to imagine the work and money it takes to keep this flying today.

Enjoyed the video, Thanks for the No music and or yapping DJ.

Thank you for resisting the urge to add music and/or narration. Much appreciated!

At Last!!! an aeroplane video with no annoying F****** music or F****** yapping just the sounds of aircraft thank you so much Mate!

Thank you for posting. I enjoyed with no music or talking. One nice demo.

nice vid! nothing sounds like a F104 flyby

Xrm 150 Best flying video of F-104 I've seen- gets the heart pounding. Thx

Beautiful!! I recall two things about this great plane - the networks would sign off at night with video of the 104 and scrolling across the screen was: "...though I slipped the surly bonds of Earth...". Secondly I remember that other countries had a hard time with the Starfighter because of it's aerodynamics and the skill level required to fly it. What a wonderful aircraft!