Hobby Master Archive

Lockheed was going to show off their F-104 at the Paris Air Show in 1963 so as a promotion they set up a speed record demonstration. On June 6, 1963 F-104 9028 piloted by SABCA-Fairey chief test pilot Bernard Neefs flew the aircraft 260.6 km (128.3 miles) in 9 minutes and 55 seconds at an average speed of 1,576.4 km/h (979.55 mph). The aircraft had the flags of all 104 user countries displayed on both sides of its fuselage. This F-104 would later join the Belgium AF as FX-11.