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Rick Svetkoff began his search for an F-104 Starfighter
in the fall of 1988. Talks of F-104s being
shipped to the U.S. gave him hope, however, it was not until
early 1995 that he purchased his first F-104. In
1997, in its first season,
Starfighters
took the air show industry by storm with participation in
twelve of the largest airshow events in the country.
Currently,
Starfighters
has two aircraft in operation and a third ready to
fly. In just two short years and 65 successful airshows,
Starfighters
is quickly becoming the most sought after air performance
team on the air show circuit. The first two aircraft were originally in
service with the Royal Canadian Air Force. They both later
served with the Royal Norwegian Air Force before being
imported into the US into private hands.
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Click on photo for a larger view. |
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CF-104D 104632 "N104RB"
Our two-seat CF-104D was built by Lockheed Aircraft in
Burbank, California for the Royal Canadian Air Force. ‘632
was stationed at CFB Cold Lake in Northern Alberta, Canada
at the #6 Strike and Reconnaissance Operational Training
Unit. The aircraft was sold to the Royal Norwegian Air Force
in May 1973. Retired from active service in Norway, ‘632
was imported into the US in the late 1980’s, becoming N104NL
with Northern Lights Aircraft. She was later purchased by
Thunderbird Aviation and reregistered as N166TB. In early
1996, ‘632
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was purchased to form the
nucleus of the Starfighters Airshow Team and has been registered as N104RB.
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CF-104 104850 "N104RD"
Our single-seat CF-104 was built by Canadair in Cartierville,
Canada. ‘850 served with the Royal Canadian Air Force
until mid-1973, when it was sold to the Royal Norwegian Air
Force. After retirement from the RNAF, the aircraft was imported
into the US in private hands with registration N104JT. 850
was purchased by the team in July 1997 and was flown for the
first time since restoration in October that same year.
Pilot Wolf Czaia flies this aircraft in the
number two
position during airshows.
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Click here to see a Starfighters
video.
It
may take a minute to download
completely...it's worth the wait! |
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Also, check out this video from Toronto last
year!
Click Here |
There is an excellent book about Starfighter service with
the Royal Canadian Air Force. It is written by a former RCAF
Starfighter pilot, David Bashow. It is titled “Starfighter
- A loving retrospective of the CF-104 era in Canadian
fighter aviation”, published in 1990 by Fortress
Publications. The ISBN number is 0-919195-12-1. It is an
excellent first-hand account of what it was like to fly the
104 in active service. It’s well worth tracking down a copy.
Click the F-104 Starfighter
below
to meet our crew.
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