Friday morning April 26 the Warhawk Air Museum took delivery of F-104A Starfighter serial 56-778. The aircraft had been brought over the night before from the Merle Maine collection in Ontario, OR. The move was only about 40 or 50 miles, so it was possible to transport the aircraft intact. I've been somewhat involved with this as I was the most knowledgeable person on F-104s that volunteers at the museum, and I have some contacts among the Starfighter community. The aircraft is in good condition externally, is fitted with what looks like a new or overhauled engine (appears to be a J79-11B). The cockpit is fairly complete, but the 1950s tube/transformer avionics are missing. I was asked to prepare a brief history of the aircraft. The following notes were derived from information provided to me by the International F-104 Society.
This F-104A (serial 56-778) was built in 1958 and assigned to the first unit in the USAF to have the Starfighter,
the 83 Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Hamilton Air Force Base in Northern California.
In 1960 it was sent to Taiwan as part of the Military Assistance Program.
The Taiwanese received newer Starfighters in 1966, and after an overhaul in the Untied States
the aircraft was sent to Jordan in 1969 again as part of the Military Assistance Program.
The aircraft was taken out of service in 1977 and returned to the US in 1990 by a private company.
It went thru several aircraft dealers until Merle Maine bought it in 1995. It was acquired
by the Warhawk Air Museum in April of 2013.
There are only 4 Starfighters still flying anywhere in the world, 3 in Florida,
one in Arizona, though there are another 3-4 being returned to flight status.
There are no F-104As flying anywhere in the world at this time.
http://www.warhawkairmuseum.org/http://www.ktvb.com/news/local/F-104-St ... 81531.htmlhttps://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 028&type=3http://www.i-f-s.nl/ International f-104 Society
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