Starfighters Inc


Starfighters Inc is a civilian organization that uses F-104 Starfighters for contract testing and flight simulations.
WWW Official Site

History

Starfighters Inc, based in Clearwater, Florida, began as a private venture founded in 1995 to restore and fly three former Canadair CF-104 Starfighters at air shows across the United States and Canada. Initially their CF-104s consisted of a two-seat CF-104D Serial#:104632, and two single-seat CF-104s Serial#s: 104850 and 104759. The aircraft were originally operated with the Royal Canadian Air Force and all later served with the Royal Norwegian Air Force before being imported into the U.S. in the early 1990s. In recent years the company has cut back on air show appearances as they have transitioned to using their aircraft for government and private contract work, providing high-performance photo chase planes on flight tests, simulating enemy aircraft in military defense exercises, and modelling ballistic missiles for detection system evaluation. In summer 2011 the company acquired five additional aircraft. The estimated cost of restoration of each of the five aircraft is $1 million. In winter of 2025, the organization funded a new branch of the company called Starfighters Space, focused on air to orbit launches of small satellite and payloads. The IPO raised $40 million from 11 million shares of common stock.
CEO & President of Starfighters is Rick Svetkoff.

Fleet

  • CF-104D, ex-Canadian Armed Forces serial number 104632, registered as N104RB
  • CF-104G, ex-Canadian Armed Forces serial number 104759, registered as N104RN
  • CF-104G, ex-Canadian Armed Forces serial number 104850, registered as N104RD
  • F-104B, ex-USAF serial number 56-1296, registered as N65354
  • F-104S, ex-Italian Air Forces serial number MM6734, registered as N993SF
  • TF-104G-M serial number 54251, registered as N990SF
  • TF-104G-M serial number 54258, registered as N991SF
  • TF-104G-M serial number 54261, registered as N992SF