aviation - the past, present and future of flight

air, although I already had one hand going

towards the ejector handle if necessary. The

whole thing probably lasted 15 seconds but

for me it felt a very long time.”

For his last three years in the KLu

Hans was, in addition to his airshow work,

an instructor pilot at Volkel. His final

Starfighter flight on October 3, 1979 having

accumulated 2,392 F-104G hours.

Asked about the reputation of the

Starfighter Hans said: “You just had to stay

within the F-104’s flight envelope, then you

could do anything with it. It was unfair to call

the F-104 the ‘widow maker’.

I don’t think the aircraft deserved the label.

That came about mostly from early West

German experiences, when their air force,

at every level, was not yet ready to operate

such an advanced aircraft. If you look at

other airplanes, several had a worse record

than the F-104’s; its J-79 engine was the

most reliable I ever flew with.”

The rundown of the KLu F-104G force

saw the air defence squadrons retire their

aircraft first – 322 Sqn in mid-1979, followed

by 323 in August 1980. They were followed

by 311 Sqn in August 1982, and 306 stood

down its RF-104Gs in late 1983. During

those last operational years some of the

surplus F-104s were transferred to the Greek

and Turkish air forces.

No.312 Sqn was the final operational

unit and marked the end of its association

with the F-104G on June 13, 1984 with an

18-ship flypast. Its fighters were re-assigned

to the training unit at Leeuwarden, acting

as continuation aircraft for Starfighter pilots

awaiting the start of their F-16 conversion

courses. On November 21, 1984 the last

operational KLu F-104 flight took place

having amassed 22 years’ service.

HISTORIC FLIGHT VOLKEL

Although Starfighter operations ended at

Volkel in 1984, one day it may again echo

to the distinctive sound of its J-79 engine.

Since August 2012 the Historic Flight Volkel

(HVV) has been working hard to get one

of its F-104s, D-8114, into engine running

condition at the base.

Retired KLu F-104 pilot Hans Ruijgrok,

who is heavily involved with the venture,

explained: “Since work started on D-8114

the project has become even more

ambitious. We are negotiating to obtain a

J-79 engine and are currently looking at

ways of achieving our goal to fly the F-104G.”

As well as needing to secure adequate

finance, returning D-8114 to flying status is

in unknown territory. “One option is to follow

the same route as the group has done at

Bodø, in Norway, which has placed its CF-

104 on the civilian register.

“We still have to decide our way forward;

military, civil or third country registration.

The aircraft is currently owned by the

military and I know from my Norwegian

colleagues that there will be a lot of

negotiation to be done before we could

step outside of military ownership.”

Currently the cockpit wiring has been

reconnected, while the tail section and

wings have been removed for maintenance

and necessary repairs. The next major

step is to jack up the aircraft and change

the undercarriage after which the wings

will be reattached. Once the tail section

has been refitted, electrics and hydraulics

can be restored. This will give a good

indication of what extra work may be

required. HVV hopes the aircraft will be

ready for full static display again at the

2019 KLu Open Days. Fingers crossed the

days of Dutch Starfighters might not be

over just yet.

40 Aviation News incorporating Jets August 2018

“To make the F-104

perform well you

had to take it to the

very corner of every

part of the flight

envelope.”

A 312 Sqn Starfighter, D-6682, on approach to Volkel in 1974. Cor Vermolen

A line-up of KLu F-104G Starfighters at Volkel in August 1975. Cor Vermolen

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