INSIGHTS ‘Cactus-Staffel’ F-104s
It was the outfit established to train West German pilots to handle the performance, and the capabilities, of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. But the so-called ‘Cactus-Staffel’ was more than that. As one former student describes, it was a special fellowship of aviators
When I first encountered the F-104G, on the hot tarmac of Luke Air Force Base, Arizona in 1978, we both had 24 years under our belts. But while I was a lousy student pilot, it was a world record-holder —a top speed of 1,220.208kt, a climb to 82,020.8ft in four minutes 26.03 seconds, and a maximum altitude of 103,395ft, all three records having been achieved simultaneously back in 1957. Now it was my turn to experience this performance.
The US Air Force’s 69th Fighter Squadron at Luke had been training Luftwaffe and Marineflieger F-104 pilots for years. They, in turn, felt proud to be part of the ‘Cactus- Starfighter-Staffel’, as the community was called. We still do. Those formative days were undoubtedly challenging, but set us down the road to becoming operational on this most exciting of jet fighters.
On the day of my first flight, my instructor Pat ‘Fireball’ Shannon and I collected our helmets, g-sui…
