fuzzy :3


The Starfighter was the first combat aircraft capable of sustained Mach 2 flight, and its speed and climb performance remained impressive more than thirty years after its first flight. Equipped with razor-edge thin-blade supersonic wings (visible from the cockpit only in the mirrors), it was designed for optimum performance above Mach 1.2. If used appropriately, with high-speed surprise attacks and good use of its exceptional thrust-to-weight ratio, it could be a formidable opponent. It was exceptionally stable at high speed, i.e., over 600 knots (1,100 km/h; 690 mph), at very low level, making it a potent tactical nuclear strike-fighter. However, in a low-speed turning contest with conventional subsonic opponents (as Pakistani pilots were with Indian Mystères in 1965), the fighter was vulnerable. The F-104's large turn radius was due to the high speeds required for maneuvering, and its high-alpha stalling and pitch-up behavior required attentiveness from its pilot. In reference to the F-104's low-speed turn performance, a humorous colloquialism was coined by a pilot in the skies over Edwards Air Force Base: "Banking with intent to turn."