OK, I know it's not very scale (those tip tanks are WAY too small) but has anyone flown the Banana Hobby F-104? It still looks cool...Russ Farris


Fhttp://store.bananahobby.com/1773.htmlarris

I am really interested in the F-104 as well and I have to agree; I could live with the too big intakes if only the wingtip tanks were big enough. I'm sure the little bomb/missle thingies could be removed but then you would have the issue of a easily seen too-thick airfoil section. The real F-104s had a super thin airfoil and a tiny little bit of wing area. A true scale F-104 simply would not be able to fly using EDF power. So I am willing to accecpt some compromises in wing size and airfoil profile but it's gotta have some real tip tanks and more anhidral on the wings !

Pete, are y'all listening over at BananaHobby ?

Cheers,

Slim

Yes, I can live with the big intakes too, and I like the silver F-104 U.S. Air Force scheme.
Probably those truncated whatsits on the wing tips are the biggest size they could make as part of the wing molding. Scale size tanks could be done the same as my Starmax Panther, seperate mold then glue on the tip. I can live with the anhedral it has, if they would address the tank issue. I'm pretty sure there are some close to scale EDF F-104s out there.

Yeah, Pete what's the deal? Russ Farris

Holy f-ugly!!!

Sorry that one is an insult to the widowmaker.

I agree the only realistic foamy F104 i know of is the Greenairdesign one but thats a kit,it has scale tip tanks,scale intakes,also the tailplane on the banana hobby one doesn't look right.I'm sure if Starmax can produce a scale like F5 then some one can make and F104-they should have a look at the Greenairdesign one they would learn alot.

I agree...it's hard to believe that it really needs two humongous sewer-pipes like that to feed a single motor. And even if it does, I would much rather have a cheater hole than make the plane look bizarre like that. I'm usually not picky about scale looks, but that is just laugh-out-loud funny-looking.

Looks like a harrier!!

I'm listening guys! It's tough scaling down the size of a scale 104. I will continue to work on design with the manufactures.

Pete

I saw this plane a while back at Infinity-Hobby (shame they don't have a lot of their planes as airframe-only anymore): http://www.infinity-hobby.com/main/p...oducts_id=3739

It's made by Famous Models (the makers of the new "Hobby Lobby" F-16 and F-4 we've all seen so much of lately). Infinity-Hobby had this to say at the top of the item info: "The manufacturer is same as F-16 and L-39, but the item is a early product. The foam quality not good as F-16 or L-39 but still good enough."

For what it's worth, I was in Hobby Lobby a couple of weeks ago and actually saw this plane's box sitting back in the room behind the counter. I asked if they'd be offering it for purchase sometime, and the guy say no, it was very unstable.

Now, I've watched the Hobby Lobby guys fly quite a bit, so if they think it's too unstable, then I know I probably don't have a chance in hell.

If you want an F-104 and don't want an HET kit, though, you don't have a lot of choices. Especially for foam EDF's. Still an interesting looking plane, scale and foam quality aside.

It's not perfect looking but I like it well enough. As for unstable well it looked like a nice flying bird in Pete's video. I still want one.

Mike

Originally Posted by CarreraGTSCS

It's not perfect looking but I like it well enough. As for unstable well it looked like a nice flying bird in Pete's video. I still want one.

Mike

Thanks Mike! It was not that this F-104 is not stable, I have been dealing with crappy wind conditions each time I go make a video! It was blowing cross wind and a hefty crosswind at that when I make the F-104 video. I flew her again on a different day for a local demo and it was much better in light winds.

Pete

With today's motors, lipos, and fans it probably doesn't need the intakes to be 700% larger than the FSA of the fan.

its not a widow maker its a starfighter

Originally Posted by fnlrun

its not a widow maker its a starfighter

Wrong on the first part, and right on the second part. I think it was just such an impressive aircraft that it inspired a lot of nicknames:

Nicknames
The Starfighter was commonly called the "missile with a man in it"; a name swiftly trademarked by Lockheed for marketing purposes. The term "Super Starfighter" was used by Lockheed to describe the F-104G in marketing campaigns, but fell into disuse. In service, American pilots called it the "Zipper" or "Zip-104" because of its prodigious speed. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force called it Eiko ("Glory"). A less charitable name appeared, "The Flying Coffin" from the translation of the common German public name of Fliegender Sarg. The F-104 was also called Witwenmacher ("Widowmaker"), or Erdnagel ("ground nail") – the official military term for a tent peg.[46] The Pakistani AF name was Badmash ("Hooligan"), while among Italian pilots its spiky design earned it the nickname Spillone ("Hatpin"), along with Bara volante ("Flying coffin"). Canadian pilots sometimes referred to it as the "flying lawn dart" or "Widowmaker".[47]

The engine made a unique howling sound at certain throttle settings which led to NASA F-104B Starfighter N819NA being named Howling Howland.[46]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-104

Wonder if this'll ever be available as an airframe only?