Starfighters Aerospace Lists Famed CF-104D For $4.3 Million

A Florida-based organization recently listed its iconic 1962 CF-104D Starfighter, previously owned by Starfighters Aerospace, on Platinum Fighter Sales. If you know anyone with an extra $4,250,000 lying around, it might be time to call in a favor.

The CF-104D’s story began with the Canadian Armed Forces in May 1962. It served the Cold Lake test squadron up until Canada decided to shrink its CF-104 fleet in favor of the newer CF-18 Hornet. The aircraft was taken in by the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s 334 Squadron in 1973 and was retired in November 1982.

The machine sat in storage for another 6 years before it was purchased by the Northern Light Aircraft Corporation and transported to the US on a C-130 Hercules. After another year of renovation, it returned to the air on May 16, 1989.

The CF-104D was grounded and put up for sale again in 1993. Thunderbird Aviation acquired the aircraft, overhauled it, and put it to work performing test flights for the US Air Force at Edwards AFB. 

The plane’s journey to fame kicked off in 1996 when it was bought up by Rick Svetkoff for a Starfighter demonstration team. It got a fresh coat of paint in Lakeland and was re-registered as N104RB after Rick and his wife Brenda.

Starfighters Aerospace flew the two-seat CF-104D and two other single-seat CF-104s in airshows for nearly twenty years. In 2017, N104RB was placed in storage and donated to a Florida charitable organization. Starfighters has since moved away from the show scene and uses its fleet of supersonic Lockheed F-104s for various flight testing services.

Now, the historic CF-104D is ready for its next owner. It is listed on Platinum Fighter Sales for about $4,250,000 with 3031.2 hours of total time, a 2017 General Electric J-79-11B engine, and new wheels and brakes. The seller states that it has been disassembled for a paint job and is being sold “as is, where is."

Special Note: For those of you who have been searching frantically for a proper Christmas gift, later this year, for ANN's Jim Campbell, you need look no further... 

FMI: https://www.platinumfighters.com/inventory/cf-104d-starfighter-n104rb/