Starfighters Inc

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

History

Starfighters Inc, based in Clearwater, Florida, began as a private venture founded in 1995[1] 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 (registered as N104RB[2]), and two single-seat CF-104s Serial#s: 104850 (registered as N104RD[3]) and 104759 (registered as N104RN[4]). 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.[5]

In the 2010s, the company cut back on air show appearances and taken more government and private contract work—for example, providing high-performance photo chase planes for flight tests, simulating enemy aircraft in military exercises, and modelling ballistic missiles for detection system evaluation.[6] In summer 2011 the company acquired five more aircraft. The estimated cost of restoration of each of the five aircraft is $1 million.[7] In winter 2025, the organization created 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.[8]

CEO and President of Starfighters is Rick Svetkoff.

Fleet

  • CF-104D, ex-Canadian Armed Forces serial number 104632, registered as N104RB[9]
  • CF-104G, ex-Canadian Armed Forces serial number 104759, registered as N104RN[10]
  • CF-104G, ex-Canadian Armed Forces serial number 104850, registered as N104RD[11]
  • F-104B, ex-USAF serial number 56-1296, registered as N65354[12]
  • F-104S, ex-Italian Air Forces serial number MM6734, registered as N993SF[13]
  • TF-104G-M serial number 54251, registered as N990SF[14]
  • TF-104G-M serial number 54258, registered as N991SF[15]
  • TF-104G-M serial number 54261, registered as N992SF[16]

References

  1. ^ "F-104 Starfighter – Fly a Starfighter".
  2. ^ "FAA Registry (N104RB)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  3. ^ "FAA Registry (N104RD)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  4. ^ "FAA Registry (N104RN)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  5. ^ Starfighters F-104 Demo Team Retrieved: 6 February 2008
  6. ^ March, Peter R. "Starfighters Inc Receives Italian F-104s." Aircraft, August 2011
  7. ^ March, Peter R. "Starfighters Inc Receives Italian F-104s." Aircraft, August 2011
  8. ^ "Starfighters Space Completes $40 Million Regulation A IPO - Vintage Aviation News". 2025-12-30. Retrieved 2026-01-05.
  9. ^ "N-Number Inquiry Results Registration N104RB Serial number 104632." Federal Aviation Administration, Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  10. ^ "N-Number Inquiry Results Registration N104RN Serial number 104759." Federal Aviation Administration, Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  11. ^ "N-Number Inquiry Results Registration N104RD Serial number 104780." Federal Aviation Administration, Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  12. ^ "FAA Registry: N65354." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  13. ^ "N-Number Inquiry Results Registration N993SF Serial number MM6734." Federal Aviation Administration, Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  14. ^ "FAA Registry: N990SF." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  15. ^ "FAA Registry: N991SF." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
  16. ^ "FAA Registry: N992SF." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 July 2021.
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