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Here's one of those aircraft addons that may have been around for awhile, but still has its "good looks" and packs quite a whollop in the powerhouse!  I don't own every single fighter aircraft add on out there (oh, wishful thinking!) but I do have a few, and Cloud 9's F-104 Starfighter easily ranks up there with the best of them.  The folks at Cloud 9 have done their homework, only too well, with this particular aircraft model!  Even though it's an older aircraft, the first two prototypes having flown for the first time back in 1954, I believe this is still a very popular model, and to be honest, probably due to the looks of the aircraft itself!  That's just a guess on my part, but I know that when I first saw this particular aircraft at a show, I thought "Cool! I bet it goes fast!" I was young and impressionable!  You have to admit though; the F104 is one hot looking rocket with wings!
It all started with that need to be faster in the air than the enemy. The legendary Kelly Johnson, of "Skunk Works" fame (the P-38 Lightening being his first "Black Project") was given the task of designing a single seat fighter, capable of kicking butt over anything in the skies, namely of Soviet origin, be high powered, and, by the way, could ya keep the cost down?  He went with an aircraft design of small size and kept the complexity of the aircraft to a minimum, i.e., no air-to-air intercept radar.  Powered with one jet engine, initially a 7,800 pound thrust Wright XJ65-W-6 turbojet, 10,000 pounds thrust with afterburners, it was hoped that it would have that high speed and maneuverability that everyone wanted. A wide chord, short-span wing that was not swept, was designed.  It was a mere 4 inches / 10.16 cm thick, and had a leading edge that required the use of a protective covering while on the ground to keep the crews from giving themselves haircuts!  The tail is set near to the tip of the fin.
The aircraft had the nickname of "Widow Maker", because of an abundance of fatal crashes that occurred with this aircraft.  The F104 Starfighter is no toy, either in real life or the simulated version.  It is a high performance machine that needs to be flown correctly.  Due to early development problems, the USAF had lost interest in the project and only ordered a few hundred of the aircraft when they were ready for production and were used in a limited fashion in Viet Nam. 
The Starfighter found greater success when a group of NATO countries built an updated version, the F-104G, which is the aircraft represented in this package.  The Starfighter found a home with many countries, all of which are represented in the liveries available to you.  The USAF livery is not included as they really did not utilize the F104 that much.

The Starfighter was the first of the "Century Series" of fighter aircraft to maintain speeds above twice the speed of sound and became the first aircraft to hold both titles of speed and altitude concurrently.  On May 7, 1958, Maj. Howard C. Johnson reached an altitude of 91,243 feet.  In December of 1959, an F-104C bumped the altitude level to 103,389 feet, being the first aircraft to take off under its own power and break the 100,000 foot ceiling barrier.  That's an incredible accomplishment!  And this just a bit
 
over fifty years from the time the Wright's flew their way into the history books!  The developments in the world of aviation are simply astounding, and the Starfighter is a great example of the speed at which aviation technology can advance!  The service life of the aircraft is also commendable.  In 1997-98, the Italian Air Force extended the lives of their license-built F-104's, keeping them flying half a century after the first prototypes maid their initial flights.

The F104 is not a "fly-by-wire" aircraft but it should have been!  There are many factors that are unique to this aircraft, and Cloud 9 has done an excellent job of recreating the looks, performance, and especially the feel of the aircraft in their model!  It takes some smooth flying techniques to operate this piece of machinery!  I don't really consider myself an expert flight simmer, although with the hours my wife tells me I spend on it, I just may be a candidate!  I do have a few hours in the virtual cockpit though, and this was one model where I "thought" I did everything right (I even read the manual first!  Can you believe it?). But still, upon take off, I was greeted with the sounds of bending metal from a none too happy aircraft!  My angle of attack exceeded 15 degrees, trim was not correctly set, and I hadn't enough coffee in me at the time (I blame the latter for most of the problems)!  First off, pay close attention to your trim settings and particularly Angle of Attack or you'll end up rolling to the right and stalling!  Secondly, this is probably a good time to mention that the sounds used for this model are excellent!  Very authentic engine sounds, with a weirdly pitched "moaning" like sound at certain speeds.  From what I have read about this aircraft, that sound was inherent to the F-104.  No loop tracks running, so you won't be hypnotized by the sound!  All other sounds, such as control surfaces, gear, buttons and switches sound great, and scarily authentic.  I say "scarily" because I had the volume turned up a bit to check out how this bird sings, and upon "trying" to get off the ground for the first time is when I heard the crunching, bending, scraping sounds that an aircraft makes when you bend it the wrong way!  I was startled!  Nope, didn't wet myself though!  Wasn't that scary!  The sound package is truly great and very impressive!

When the screeching sounds along with the jet stopped, I did a little review, wrote myself out an impromptu checklist, a highly suggested item to prepare for yourself, and was able to overcome the stall effect and roll to the right the next time around!  It still was not the most perfect looking take off, but that's what I like about products like this.  It gives you a chance to learn!  When you purchase a product and you master it within one hour, wow, how exiting is that?  But when you have a product that makes you want to come back for some more (punishment?), now that's what I call interesting!   
   
As far as the flight dynamics go, realism is the name of the game!  Not impossible to fly by any means, just a bit tricky and "unique".  Take off's and landings are certainly challenging!  With the Starfighter, speed and rate of climb are the outstanding features. Practice does make perfect, and the experienced simmer will find that the challenge is well worth the effort!  There are 3 variations on each of the represented models; simplified, standard, and unreliable.  The simplified variation gives you a break in the flight characteristics and handling of this aircraft and the standard variation represents the realistic flight characteristics (be prepared for some challenging flying!), and lastly, the unreliable version (remember, this was a defense department project!), giving you the utmost in reality, with various system failures that you just don't see coming!  Beginning simmers will probably have problems with flying the aircraft at either the standard or unreliable setting.  If you are a beginner, you'll find the simplified version is not only fun to fly, but also offers a level of challenge that is perfect for newcomers.
While some countries had frighteningly bad safety records, others had quite a good reputation for safety.  This may show that the problems could have been due to maintenance and training issues, rather than an unstable aircraft.  Nonetheless, even if you were a jet jockey back then and jumped into the cockpit of the F-104 for a "quick flight", odds are you were in for a totally different experience! (READ THE MANUAL!!!)  Cloud 9 has done an extremely fine job of reproducing the various aircraft configurations, i.e., fuel pods vs. clean, plus other configs, along with the flight characteristics that different load outs would produce.  You have to remember details such as these if you want to fly this aircraft effectively.  V speeds will be different due to drag, and you can tell the difference while "flying" the aircraft in its many variations, just by the way it handles.  This is not a one-size fits all model! The F-104 had both leading edge and trailing edge flaps to increase the very uniquely shaped wing's lift. BLC (Boundary Layer Control) is a system that uses engine bleed air to blow over the trailing edge flaps whenever they are extended. This feature is used only with land flap (45° flaps) and there is no airflow for flaps angles of 15° or less. This system allows slower approach and landing speeds but does result in a dramatic loss of lift if the throttle is closed prior to touchdown. This was an aircraft that was full of tricks, and you'll find that bag of tricks in the Cloud 9 rendition of the Starfighter!  F-104 pilots were asked their opinion of the product and they all gave it thumbs up.  Not being a pilot (yet!), I really don't know beans from bacon when it comes to the realism of the product versus the actual F104, but I honestly think these guys were absolutely right on in giving it a thumbs up!
Two additional download packs of liveries are available for free, and give you 57 (I think I counted right!) variations in all!  The countries that utilized the F-104G the most are represented in this product.  USA liveries are not present, since they operated a very small portion of the overall number of aircraft produced.  Countries from Canada to Pakistan, West Germany to Spain are represented with some outstanding paint work.  Even the bare metal variations have great textures and quite a realistic look to them.  Pictures will speak far better than words in this category of the review, and I think you'll see what I mean with the screen shots provided!  The paint jobs reflect the 'serious' years of the F104, and they also reflect the more artistic renditions that were done towards the end of their era.  Great care was taken with the creation of these liveries to portray, as close as possible, the real aircraft that are flying these colors.  Excellent job!
Detail is apparent on all external features to include gear, which operates extremely smooth, various weaponry and loadouts, and especially the afterburner effects and the movement of the exhaust nozzle!  All beautifully done!  Remember, the loadouts will have an aerodynamic effect on the aircraft specific to that particular loadout configuration, and are not just eye candy.   Dynamic shine adds to the beauty of the external shots, especially on the bare metal variations.
Various effects such as contrails, vapor trails off the wing tips in high-G turns, a brilliantly rendered canopy with realistic reflections, pilot/canopy animations where the pilot actually reaches over and opens the canopy, with the head turning in the directions of operation, a Para-brake that actually works, tail hook, gun sight, mirrors and ground operations extras are all part of the package and all are very detailed!  These neat little extras certainly add to the realism of the product, and that's what we're after!  The ejection sequence will save your life in a very nonchalant way by restarting the flight from the beginning for you.  No canopy popping off, followed by the violent effects of being dumped into a slipstream at an extremely fast speed.  I have to be honest, I was just a bit disappointed here, but then, you're buying this plane to fly, not jump out of!  That's the job for the gang with the wings and parachute on their chests! 

Check out this series of shots I took as I busted the sound barrier!  I was totally impressed with this particular compression effect!
 
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As we step, or rather wedge ourselves into the cockpit, what we see is one of the most functional panel set-ups around!  The panels are authentic, realistic looking, and easy to read.  The side panels are set up in such a way as to display them in a sideways fashion, as if you were looking down at them at your sides.  You may find yourself tilting your head a bit to read the various controls, but they too are detailed and easy to read.  While in the 2D mode, icons at the bottom right of the screen allow easy access to other views.  Two different front views are offered to you, full view, and what most of us are used to seeing, the standard panel set up.  I find myself using both of the views for flying, as both are enjoyable to use.  The Virtual Cockpit was very detailed also and highly workable, but refresh rates of the gauges were on the slow side, which surprised me, since all other aspects of the model are right on.  This may be due to a development issue, though I'm not really sure.  In both the 2D and VC modes, most switches, knobs and buttons are workable, with just a bit of eye candy strewn about for good measure.

Here are some shots of the rather close fitting cockpit:
To operate the systems of this aircraft when on the ground and for start-up you need the electric and air power provided by a GPU (Ground Power Unit). I thought this was another excellent addition in the "extras" category.
Autopilot
The MH-97G system can follow not only a VOR station but also a NDB signal (depending on the station selected on the PHI). This new feature is automatically disengaged when the aircraft reaches a position close to the station (about 3 miles). This new option automatically corrects the wind drift. The autopilot system is basic and easy to figure out.  In a nutshell, you can either have the altitude hold engaged or the speed hold engaged, but not both at the same time.  So basically, when the speed hold is engaged the altitude hold will disengage and vice versa.  Remember the "keep it simple" part of the request for this aircraft?
Radar
The radar “target lock” feature has been added and you can now see the selected track info even if this is not under the track selector (see the full description in the “Radar” chapter of this manual).  The “target lock” can be obtained moving the target selector on the screen until the desired track. To move the selector you have to click on the active areas of the knob. Around this knob, starting from the center, there are 8 sensitive areas used to move the selector in each direction. When the selector is over the desired track, a click on the knob center locks the target and the related data will be continuously displayed on the screen even if the target position changes.  This is a great feature and provides some added fun in intercepting AI traffic!
The renditions of the F-104G Starfighter by the developers at Cloud 9 have done a superb job with this aircraft model.  As I said earlier, they had done their homework only too well!  I think this package will be popular for a long time to come, just as the popularity of the actual F-104 has persisted to maintain a place in the history books of aviation.  I also believe it has something to offer for all levels of experience, although, if you are new to the sim skies, the learning curve may be a bit more "curvy" for you.  If you can master this aircraft in its ultimate mode, which is unreliable, you've come a long way in the sim skies!

The installation was a bit of a problem, only because I had the older version of the addon manager installed, but after updating to the newer version, no problem whatsoever!  
To buy the product, you first download and install it, then open MSFS 2004, start a default aircraft and flight, open your toolbar, open the add on manger from Cloud 9 that installs when you download the product, jump through the necessary hoops, which are not difficult to get through and ouila!  You're ready to burn up the asphalt!  Well, maybe you should read the very well written manual first, which is in PDF format and has some rather humorous cartoon type depictions of the do's and don'ts of flying the F-104.  The manual is about 80 pages of information and pictures of some of the configurations that are available.  Here's my suggestion to you if you want to print up the manual, but don't want to print all those pics along with it, for they are in color and will drink that ink!  Just use the old copy and paste to a Word document what you need, including the pics of the panels, and choose black and white as your print option.  Saves a bit of that precious colored ink and it's really handy to have some of this information at your fingertips while learning to maneuver this beast.
Features:  accurate 3D models for the following versions: F-104G  high quantity of animated components, including a drag chute braking system with realistic braking effect  detailed photo-realistic cockpit  extremely accurate flight dynamics  real audio set recorded live form the F-104  liveries of all different nations which operated the aircraft  spectacular set of commemorative liveries  detailed textures in every aspect, including elements visible through fuselage ports  detailed manual

System Requirements: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 - Windows XP - CPU 1.5Ghz - RAM 256Mb - 30Mb HDD space - 32Mb Video Card - Sound Card - DirectX 8.0 or higher
For more information or to purchase this product or other fine Cloud9 products, visit www.cloud9.com.
Screenshots
Cloud 9's F104 Starfighter
Reviewed by Farmboyzim
         
         
         
Because of this tail configuration, initial plans for ejection called for a downward bailout, for fear of hitting the tail coming out the top.  Advancements in ejection seat technology rectified this issue though.Two versions of these seats are viewable in the models.
   
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