For educational purposes
The F-104 Starfighter, creation of Lockheed's legendary chief engineer, Kelly Johnson, was certainly a controversial aircraft.
Dubbed the "manned missile", it was, in many ways - especially appearance the "hottest" plane ever built.
Its wing looked far too small to be aerodynamically feasible and caused considerable concern to USAF decision makers, yet when it came to moving at high speed - Mach 2 plus in a straight line. the Starfighter had few rivals.
For all the controversy, doubts and official opposition, the Starfighter actually stayed in production from the 1950s through to the 1980s longer than any other jet combat aircraft, it was also ultimately a substantial money earner for Lockheed.
Paradoxically, it was not in its originally planned role as a small, light and simple day fighter that the Starfighter found its main success, instead it was painstakingly developed into a heavier and more complex plane, amongst other variants it became an extremely effective all weather attack aircraft.
This is but a short summary of the fascinating Starfighter story, the whole story of the GREAT PLANE is here in an action packed GREAT PLANES video that puts you right in the cockpit.
Watch it. Fly it. Judge for yourself whether or not the Starfighter deserved its reputation.
