CF 104 Starfighter

Thx for looking into this picture problem Trev

INNISFAIL — The “Widowmaker” rears skyward from its mount as a CF-18 Hornet from Cold Lake flies down Main Street in salute to a highly-valued relic of the Cold War.

Old soldiers ignore the cold and biting wind as they form up at the CF-104 Starfighter’s steel and concrete base to dedicate a project that has taken them 26 years and $100,000, plus another $50,000 in donated goods and services, to finally complete.

Shortly after fire destroyed Innisfail’s original branch in 1981, its executive started searching for a suitable monument for its new site. Numerous attempts were made and failed, including efforts to get a Harvard trainer from Penhold.

Members eventually decided to seek out a CF-104, which they felt would be a nice fit with their branch, also numbered 104.

In a search that stretched from Cold Lake to Korea, the branch finally found a contact in Maine, American Air Force officer Steve Alex, who was able to locate and restore their dream plane at a cost of $70,000.

The plane’s value in 1960 would have been $1.4 million.

It is perhaps that testament to tenacity that makes the Starfighter — one of only two remaining planes of its type — such a fitting monument for Branch 104, said Rod Stewart, vice-president of the organization’s Alberta-Northwest Territories command.

“This is a perfect example of outside the box thinking. You have done a tremendous job for your branch and your community,” said Stewart.

He went on to comment that the Starfighter monument would be a landmark in the community and create a new destination for aviation aficionados from around the world.

People who watched the project come to life often questioned why the Starfighter is displayed at such a high angle, pointing nearly straight into the sky, said Dan Rieberger, president of the Innisfail Legion.

“This is one of the few planes in the world that could actually fly in this manner,” said Rieberger. And because it could jump straight up almost from the end of the runway, it seemed suitable to display it that way, rather than in a more conventional fashion, he said.

Innisfail’s model is a Type F trainer, built for the United States Air Force and stationed in Germany from 1961 until its retirement in 1971, said branch vice-president Chris Strong.

There were only 30 Type Fs built of which two remain, the one in Innisfail and the other on display in Belgium.

Even without the fuel tanks on the tips of its very short wings, Innisfail’s Starfighter — nicknamed Widowmaker by the pilots who both loved and feared it — is a formidable reminder of the threat of nuclear destruction.

It’s a rocket with a cockpit, powered by single engine that outweighs the rest of the plane. When a Starfighter’s engine failed, the plane would plummet from the sky like a huge, streamlined anchor. Sometimes, there just wasn’t enough sky between the plane and the ground for the pilot to eject safely. The CF-104 still holds the world speed record for low-altitude flight, said Strong.

Unlike its American cousins, built as multitasking jet fighters, the Canadian Starfighter’s role was as an attack plane, he said.

Of the 239 CF-104s built in Canada under licence to Lockheed, 100 planes and 37 pilots were lost, said Col. (retired) Gerry Morrison, who logged 880 hours flying Starfighters.

Despite its dangers, it was a beautiful plane to fly, responsive and extremely fast, said Morrison, who lives in Cochrane.

He recalled flying the plane on reconnaissance missions at just under 70 metres, taking pictures and trying to remember as many details as possible for his report.

“All CF-104 pilots were trained at Cold Lake, which makes it a significant Alberta aircraft. That makes it all that much more important that you have one of them.