My understanding on the F-104 Starfighter is that it was a fairly dangerous airplane. In fact, when the US sold some to the German Air Force, a part of the deal was that some of the systems had to be made in Germany and that gave rise to the company whose systems (one of which) I support. I find that interesting because one of the first model airplanes I ever built was an F-104C. I always thought it was the toughest looking jet ever. At any rate, the German F-104 program became quite controversial because it seemed to kill a pretty impressive number of German Air Force pilots.
I saw an F-104 take off at NAF Sigonella one day in about 1979, and holy mother of g*d, that thing wade the most impressive jet roar I have ever heard. The thing got airborne, pointed its nose at the sky, and was out of sight in about 30 seconds. MOST impressive!
If I could buy a Cold War era jet to fly around, I think it would be an A-4 Skyhawk. I saw one doing snap rolls at NAS Memphis back in 1976 and it made a lasting impression.
Truth is, I don't know [bleep] from shinola about flying any of them. I'd probably ask one of the naval aviators here if I inherited a few million dollars to do whatever I wanted with.
