@ Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, Ford Island, HI
December 2018
This Hawaiian Starfighter was moved outside since my last visit here, paired up with a Cold War counterpart. This was the first aircraft to achieve sustained Mach 2 flight and the first to hold speed and altitude records simultaneously, as well as the first to reach 100,000 feet. While the USAF only purchased 296 F-104s, improved F-104s sold very well overseas, serving as late as 2004. This F-104A (56-817) was ordered in 1956 and delivered to the Air Force in July 1958. It served as a chase plane at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB until 1972. In 1987, it moved to the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB until May 2013, when it moved to Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor. This particular F-104 can be seen in episodes of “I Dream of Jeannie”.
This MiG originally served in Serbia. It is the PF edition, an early variant used by several North Vietnamese aces. Some 50 countries over four continents have flown the MiG-21, considered the most-produced supersonic jet aircraft in aviation history. First flown in 1955, the MiG-21 was the first Soviet plane to reach Mach 2. It was in production from 1959 to 1985. The first MiG-21s were delivered to North Vietnam directly from the Soviet Union in April 1966. Fuji X-E2s w/18-135mm.
