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We have gotten responses from across Canada, the USA an Europe with the arrival of the 104
Received this from a friend and thought I would share...
Notes for aspiring 104 Drivers or those that wish they could be...
"When you are going that fast, there is a lot of air being stuffed into the intake. The rpm must be kept high in order to ingest the air, or it will do the same thing you would do if you drink a warm coke to fast, it will burp! It, however will burp somewhat louder than you. We all refer to airplanes as females. They are less attractive when they burp. This one is designed not to."
"If absolute maximum range is a must, the pylon tanks, pylons, and the tip tanks may be jettisoned in order to reduce drag and increase range after they are empty (or before if necessary). This is not recommended, as your local FBO may not stock F-104 gas tanks, and it tends to create a high stress environment among people on the ground. Most non pilots just can’t cope with this kind of pressure without exhibiting some form of hostile or otherwise irrational behavior."
"Failure of the Anti-Skid brake safety circuit may cause a "NO BRAKES" situation even though the system is otherwise normal. The brake pedals will feel normal, but no braking will occur. In this case Manual Brakes must be selected on the left forward console provided you still wish to stop....If normal brakes do not work, don’t waste available runway determining why. Deploy the chute, select manual brakes, and stop the aircraft. You don’t have time to be a diagnostic wonder while using up the runway at 150 kts."
"The arresting hook is deployed by pressing the "Hook Release" button on the left windshield sill. The hook may not be retracted from the cockpit. No, they don’t land Starfighters on carriers, as approach speed is 170 Kts, and minimum touchdown speed is at or above 150 Kts."
"Each canopy is a single piece of transparent plastic mounted in a frame that is hinged on the left side. Normal operation of the canopy is manual. The canopy may be jettisoned in an emergency with the jettison handle on the left side of the cockpit, or automatically when the ejection seat is fired. Major bummer if that one failed to work. When jettisoned, the canopy is released from both sides by the unlatching thrusters. They in turn fire the canopy ejection thrusters on the forward bottom of the canopy frame. The canopy is now hinged at the upper rear, causing up and aft rotation to insure that the canopy does not get in the way of your head, as it is launched skyward and compressed into your shoulders when the ejection seat begins its short flight."
"The cockpit remains Unpressurized up to 5,000 MSL. The cockpit pressure altitude remains at 5,000 feet until the aircraft is about 19,000 feet, and a 5.0 psi differential is reached. The 5.0 psi differential is maintained until the aircraft goes back below 19,000 feet. For more detailed information see Page 1-17-2, figure 32, issue 1 of the CF-104 handbook, or just shut up and drive the bus."
"Remember to anticipate your level off, as you can’t pull a whole lot of G’s at 300 kts clean. Don’t forget to increase power to maintain forward speed after level off. It takes a lot of energy to maintain 300 kts. When you are no longer descending, (using up potential energy) the power to maintain level flight must come from the engine. If you forget this, you will be subjected to a four phase aeronautical process that dates back to the early 1900’s. Stall, spin, crash and burn. Phase 4 requires some amount of fuel on board at time of impact."
"Try not to fall on your head when exiting the aircraft. Adrenaline does funny things to a person, and you should have plenty of it after flying this airplane. So much for the F-104, the ultimate 'Bad Ass Airplane'".
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Alberta Aviation Museum
Edmonton Aviation Heritage Society
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