EDMONTON- A unique piece of Edmonton, Alberta and Canada’s history has arrived at the Alberta Aviation Museum.
The F-104 Starfighter- one of the last of its kind in the world- arrived from the Netherlands Friday, after seven years of searching for one that was complete and one the museum could afford.
“It’s the culmination of a lot of work by a lot of people, across three countries, two continents and an ocean, to bring her here today,” said Tim Hinderks, executive director of the Alberta Aviation Museum. “Part of the problem with finding a Starfighter was to find one that was complete. All the systems are in this aircraft, the engine’s going to be in it, it’s all there, so it can be used as part of our education program.”
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The aircraft was used with the Royal Netherlands Airforce until 1984, when its operation stopped, and the aircraft was transferred to a museum in the Netherlands.
“(A) couple of years ago it came out of the museum, it became available, and working through a broker we managed to acquire it and bring it across,” added Hinderks.
The F-104 is known as the fastest fighter the Royal Canadian Air Force ever had, hitting speeds of Mach 2.35, which is the equivalent of travelling over 800 metres per second, according to Hinderks.
“It’s an amazing aircraft, it was the hottest thing in the skies and it was ours.”
Hinderks says the aircraft is a huge addition to the museum, and will help tell the story of Alberta’s history to generations to to come.
“Kids from two to 92 are going to be able to get in the aircraft to get the impression of what a Mach 2 fighter was like, to get inspired, to dream, and that’s a huge part of why we got the 104.”
The aircraft will be fixed up over the next few weeks to replicate one that flew out of Cold Lake.
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