MACH 2
Flying the F-104 Starfighter
Published on 16. April 2021
193 pages
978-3-347-13034-0 (ISBN)
Description
Lockheed¿s F-104G, a brand-new sleek jet design of the early 1950s, was a dream bird with a flying performance well beyond imagination. Despite its widow maker reputation in Germany during the early years of operation, the F-104 gained cult status and pilots became addicted to flying it.
In his book, Rolf Stünkel takes us back to his training days and cold-war flights over the Baltic sea and along the East German border - a gripping, thought-provoking journey through time, not without a self-critical look at the past and present.
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Person
Rolf Stünkel, born in 1954 and a native of Hildesheim, Germany, joined the navy at the age of 18. After officer¿s training, sea duty, fighter pilot training in the USA at Britain and years on Starfighter and Tornado jets, he joined Lufthansa and flew long haul as an Airbus captain until retirement. The sevenfold father runs seminars on relaxed flying and works as a freelance author for aviation, naval and military history magazines. His books focus on fighter planes, air traffic control, airports and airline flying.
Content
- Intro
- Dedication
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Prologue
- A Technical Note
- Acknowledgements
- Into the Cockpit, in a Roundabout Way
- Voluntary Enlistment
- On the Frigate
- The Gateway Drug to Flying
- Aptitude Tests
- Pilot Screening
- Jets for Beginners
- Lone Star State Texas
- In the "Tweet"
- Training According to Schedule
- Wings
- Flying the T-38
- The G-Force and its Pitfalls
- Supersonic Pilot
- Jaunts and Advanced Training
- Finally Finished
- Flying the Starfighter
- In Arizona
- F-104G Background
- The German Starfighter Procurement Project
- Dieter Rode┼, Graduate engineer, Mechanical Engineering/Aircraft Construction
- A Ride on the Jet Blast
- Check and Solo Flight
- The F-104G Training Program
- Weapons Training
- Under the Hood
- Strange Sensations
- Speed is the Stuff of Life
- Mach 2 Run
- Final Spurt and Graduation
- Sea Survival and Departure
- Back Home in Germany
- Frisian Winter
- Arresting Gear
- A Bad Day
- Cross-Country
- Flying for the Navy
- What´s the Use of Naval Aviation?
- In the Squadron
- On-the-Job Training: the LCR Program
- Low Altitude Flight
- Navigation and Other Perils
- Silently on Our Way
- Self-Protection on Low-Level Flights
- Naval Aviation Weapons Training
- Air-to-Air Gunnery
- The Everyday Life of a Pilot
- Fast and Slow
- Squadron duty
- The Flying Suit
- Diary entries, August 25, 1980.
- Dream Job: Pilot
- Pilot Careers
- VIP Dispersal
- "Bathing" in Nordholz
- Passenger flights
- Training over Land and Sea
- Diverse Operations
- Diary entry, March 5, 1980
- The ABC of Tactical Flying
- NATO Base "Deci"
- Diary entry, July 9, 1980
- Cross-Country
- Cold War over the Baltic
- Political Thaw?
- Diary entry, June 1, 1981
- The Sea of Peace
- Encounters with Eastern Forces
- Reconnaissance
- A Potential Enemy: the Mig-21
- The Flying Kalashnikov
- The Career of a Tough Bird
- Differing Approaches
- Combat Missions of Starfighters and MiG-21s
- MiG-21 in East Germany
- Impressions of a German MiG-21 Pilot
- The Daily Life of an East German Fighter Pilot
- The Starfighter and Flight Safety
- Crash in the Kattegat
- The Human Factor
- Man and Machine
- Technical Problems, From a Naval Aviator's Point of View
- No Thrust, no Fun
- Aircraft Limits
- Lucky Crash
- Farewell, Starfighter
- Flight to Iceland
- A New Era
- German Reunification
- An Aeronautical Contribution to German Reunification
- Back in Time
- Texas
- In Arizona
- A visit to Kiel
- What Became of My Aircraft?
- That´s all, folks!
- Appendix
- Starfighter Versions
- F-104G, Federal German Navy
- Picture Credits
- The Author
