Starfighters_Inc

Starfighters Inc

Starfighters Inc

American flight instruction company

Starfighters Inc is a civilian organization that uses F-104 Starfighters for contract testing and flight simulations.

The "Starfighters" display in 2008

History

Starfighters Inc, based in Clearwater, Florida, began as a private venture founded in 1995[1] to restore and fly three former Canadair CF-104 Starfighters at air shows across the United States and Canada. Initially their CF-104s consisted of a two-seat CF-104D Serial#:104632 (registered as N104RB[2]), and two single-seat CF-104s Serial#s: 104850 (registered as N104RD[3]) and 104759 (registered as N104RN[4]). The aircraft were originally operated with the Royal Canadian Air Force and all later served with the Royal Norwegian Air Force before being imported into the U.S. in the early 1990s.[5] In recent years the company has cut back on air show appearances as they have transitioned to using their aircraft for government and private contract work, providing high-performance photo chase planes on flight tests, simulating enemy aircraft in military defense exercises, and modelling ballistic missiles for detection system evaluation.[6] In summer 2011 the company acquired five additional aircraft. The estimated cost of restoration of each of the five aircraft is $1 million.[7]

Fleet

  • CF-104D, ex-Canadian Armed Forces serial number 104632, registered as N104RB[8]
  • CF-104G, ex-Canadian Armed Forces serial number 104759, registered as N104RN[9]
  • CF-104G, ex-Canadian Armed Forces serial number 104850, registered as N104RD[10]
  • F-104B, ex-USAF serial number 56-1296, registered as N65354[11]
  • F-104S, ex-Italian Air Forces serial number MM6734, registered as N993SF[12]
  • TF-104G-M serial number 54251, registered as N990SF[13]
  • TF-104G-M serial number 54258, registered as N991SF[14]
  • TF-104G-M serial number 54261, registered as N992SF[15]

References

  1. [1]
    "F-104 Starfighter – Fly a Starfighter".
  2. [2]
    "FAA Registry (N104RB)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  3. [3]
    "FAA Registry (N104RD)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  4. [4]
    "FAA Registry (N104RN)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  5. [5]
    Starfighters F-104 Demo Team Retrieved: 6 February 2008
  6. [6]
    March, Peter R. "Starfighters Inc Receives Italian F-104s." Aircraft, August 2011
  7. [7]
    March, Peter R. "Starfighters Inc Receives Italian F-104s." Aircraft, August 2011
  8. [8]
    "N-Number Inquiry Results Registration N104RB Serial number 104632." Federal Aviation Administration, Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  9. [9]
    "N-Number Inquiry Results Registration N104RN Serial number 104759." Federal Aviation Administration, Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  10. [10]
    "N-Number Inquiry Results Registration N104RD Serial number 104780." Federal Aviation Administration, Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  11. [11]
    "FAA Registry: N65354." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  12. [12]
    "N-Number Inquiry Results Registration N993SF Serial number MM6734." Federal Aviation Administration, Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  13. [13]
    "FAA Registry: N990SF." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  14. [14]
    "FAA Registry: N991SF." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  15. [15]
    "FAA Registry: N992SF." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
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