Editing Lockheed F-104 Starfighter (section)

===Airframe===
The Starfighter's airframe was all-metal, primarily [[duralumin]] with some stainless steel and titanium.<ref name="Dobrzyński2015p107">Dobrzyński 2015, p. 107.</ref> The fuselage was approximately two and a half times as long as the airplane's wingspan. The wings were centered on the horizontal reference plane, or along the longitudinal centerline of the [[fuselage]], and were located substantially farther aft on the fuselage than most contemporary designs. The aft fuselage was elevated from the horizontal reference plane, resulting a "lifted" tail, and the nose was "drooped". This caused the aircraft to fly nose up, helping to minimize [[drag (physics)|drag]]. As a result, the [[pitot tube]], air inlet scoops, and engine thrust line were all canted slightly from centerline of the fuselage.<ref name="Upton2003p21">Upton 2003, p. 21.</ref>

The F-104 featured a radical wing design. Most jet fighters of the period used a [[swept-wing]] or [[delta-wing]], which balanced aerodynamic performance, lift, and internal space for fuel and equipment. The Lockheed tests determined that the most efficient shape for high-speed [[supersonic]] flight was a very small and thin, straight, mid-mounted, [[trapezoidal wing]].<ref name="Bowman2000p28"/> Much of the data on the wing shape was derived from testing done with the experimental unmanned [[Lockheed X-7]], which used a wing of a similar shape.<ref name="Upton2003pp21–22">Upton 2003, pp. 21–22.</ref> The leading edge of the wing was swept back at 26 degrees, with the trailing edge swept forward by a slightly smaller amount.<ref name="Dobrzyński2015p107"/>

[[File:Lockheed F-104A-15-LO 060928-F-1234S-008.jpg|thumb|left|[[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]] F-104A|alt=Two F-104s flying in formation]]

The new wing design was extremely thin, with a thickness-to-[[chord (aircraft)|chord]] ratio of only 3.36% and an [[aspect ratio (wing)|aspect ratio]] of 2.45.<ref name="Pace1992p13">Pace 1992, p. 13.</ref> The wing's leading edges were so thin ({{convert|.016|in|mm|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}})<ref name="Pace1992p13"/> that they were a hazard to ground crews. Hence, protective guards were installed on them during maintenance.<ref name="pacificaviationmuseum">{{cite web|url=https://www.pearlharboraviationmuseum.org/pearl-harbor-blog/lockheed-f-104-starfighter/|title=Lockheed F-104 Starfighter: The Zipper.|access-date=10 May 2020|archive-date=7 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107092022/https://www.pearlharboraviationmuseum.org/pearl-harbor-blog/lockheed-f-104-starfighter/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The thinness of the wings required fuel tanks and [[landing gear]] to be placed in the fuselage, and the [[hydraulic cylinder]]s driving the ailerons were limited to {{convert|1|in|mm|adj=on}} thickness to fit.<ref name="Davies2014p8">Davies 2014, p. 8.</ref>

The small, highly loaded wing caused an unacceptably high landing speed, even after adding both leading- and trailing-edge [[flap (aircraft)|flaps]]. Thus, designers developed a boundary layer control system, or BLCS, of high-pressure [[bleed air]], which was [[blown flap|blown]] over the trailing-edge flaps to lower landing speeds by more than {{convert|30|kn}}, and help make landing safer.<ref name="Davies2014p11">Davies 2014, p. 11.</ref><ref name="Upton2003p22">Upton 2003, p. 22.</ref> Flapless landings would be without the BLCS engaged, as flaps in the "land" position were required for its operation. Landing without the BLCS engaged was only done in emergencies and could be a harrowing experience, especially at night.<ref name="Bowman2000p122">Bowman 2000, p. 122.</ref>

The [[stabilator]] (fully moving horizontal stabilizer) was mounted atop the fin to reduce [[inertia coupling]]. Because the vertical fin was only slightly shorter than the length of each wing and nearly as aerodynamically effective, it could act as a wing-on-[[rudder]] application, rolling the aircraft in the opposite direction of rudder input. To offset this effect, the wings were canted downward at a 10° [[Dihedral (aircraft)#Anhedral|negative-dihedral]] (anhedral) angle.<ref name="Bowman2000p28">Bowman 2000, p. 28.</ref> This downward canting also improved roll control during high-G maneuvers, common in air-to-air combat.<ref name="Pace1992p13"/>

The fuselage had a high [[fineness ratio]]. It was slender, tapered towards the sharp nose, and had a small frontal area. The tightly packed fuselage contained the radar, cockpit, cannon, fuel, landing gear, and engine. The fuselage and wing combination provided low drag except at high angle of attack (alpha), at which point [[induced drag]] became very high. The F-104 had good acceleration, rate of climb, and top speed, but its sustained turn performance was poor. A "clean" (no external weapons or fuel tanks) F-104 could sustain a 7-[[g-force|g]] turn below 5,000 feet with full afterburner. Given the aircraft's prodigious fuel consumption at that altitude and relatively small fuel capacity, such a maneuver would dramatically reduce its time on station.<ref name="Bashow1986p24">Bashow 1986, p. 24.</ref>