Starfighters Space

{{Short description|American flight instruction company}} {{Multiple issues| {{refimprove|date=May 2011}} {{notability|date=May 2011}} }}

thumb|The "Starfighters" display in 2008 '''Starfighters Space''' is a civilian organization that uses F-104 Starfighters for contract testing and flight simulations.

==History== Starfighters Space, based in Clearwater, Florida, began as a private venture founded in 1995<ref>{{cite web | url=https://flyastarfighter.com/category/f-104-starfighter/ | title=F-104 Starfighter – Fly a Starfighter | access-date=2022-05-30 | archive-date=2022-05-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520174401/https://flyastarfighter.com/category/f-104-starfighter/ | url-status=live }}</ref> 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 {{airreg|N|104RB}}), and two single-seat CF-104s Serial#s: 104850 (registered as {{airreg|N|104RD}}) and 104759 (registered as {{airreg|N|104RN}}). 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.<ref>[http://www.starfighters.net/ Starfighters F-104 Demo Team] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906062328/http://www.starfighters.net/ |date=2013-09-06 }} Retrieved: 6 February 2008</ref>

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.<ref>March, Peter R. "Starfighters Inc Receives Italian F-104s." ''Aircraft'', August 2011</ref> In summer 2011 the company acquired five more aircraft. The estimated cost of restoration of each of the five aircraft is $1 million.<ref>March, Peter R. "Starfighters Inc Receives Italian F-104s." ''Aircraft'', August 2011</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-12-30 |title=Starfighters Space Completes $40 Million Regulation A IPO - Vintage Aviation News |url=https://vintageaviationnews.com/warbirds-news/starfighters-space-completes-40-million-regulation-a-ipo.html |access-date=2026-01-05 |language=en-US |archive-date=2026-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260101024718/https://vintageaviationnews.com/warbirds-news/starfighters-space-completes-40-million-regulation-a-ipo.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

CEO and President of Starfighters is Rick Svetkoff.{{citation needed|date=January 2026}}

==Fleet== * CF-104D, ex-Canadian Armed Forces serial number ''104632'', registered as N104RB<ref>[https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=104RB "N-Number Inquiry Results Registration N104RB Serial number 104632."] ''Federal Aviation Administration'', Retrieved: 27 July 2021.</ref> * CF-104G, ex-Canadian Armed Forces serial number ''104759'', registered as N104RN<ref>[https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=104RN "N-Number Inquiry Results Registration N104RN Serial number 104759."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727155142/https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=104RN |date=2021-07-27 }} ''Federal Aviation Administration'', Retrieved: 27 July 2021.</ref> * CF-104G, ex-Canadian Armed Forces serial number ''104850'', registered as N104RD<ref>[https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=104RD "N-Number Inquiry Results Registration N104RD Serial number 104780."] ''Federal Aviation Administration'', Retrieved: 27 July 2021.</ref> * F-104B, ex-USAF serial number ''56-1296'', registered as N65354<ref>[https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=65354 "FAA Registry: N65354."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727155620/https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=65354 |date=2021-07-27 }} ''faa.gov'' Retrieved: 27 July 2021.</ref> * F-104S, ex-Italian Air Forces serial number ''MM6734'', registered as N993SF<ref>[https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=993sf "N-Number Inquiry Results Registration N993SF Serial number MM6734."] ''Federal Aviation Administration'', Retrieved: 27 July 2021.</ref> * TF-104G-M serial number ''54251'', registered as N990SF<ref>[https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=990SF "FAA Registry: N990SF."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727155618/https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=990SF |date=2021-07-27 }} ''faa.gov'' Retrieved: 27 July 2021.</ref> * TF-104G-M serial number ''54258'', registered as N991SF<ref>[https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=991SF "FAA Registry: N991SF."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727161117/https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=991SF |date=2021-07-27 }} ''faa.gov'' Retrieved: 27 July 2021.</ref> * TF-104G-M serial number ''54261'', registered as N992SF<ref>[https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=992SF "FAA Registry: N992SF."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727161119/https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=992SF |date=2021-07-27 }} ''faa.gov'' Retrieved: 27 July 2021.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Starfighters Inc}} * {{cite web|title=Starfighters, Inc Official Web site|website=Starfighters|url=https://www.starfighters.net/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205081302/https://www.starfighters.net/|archive-date=5 December 2023|url-status=unfit}} (Last live archive as Starfighters, Inc.) * {{cite web|title=Starfighters, Space Official Web site|website=Starfighters Space|date=19 December 2025|url=https://starfightersspace.com/}} * [http://vintagetin.net/F-104Starfighter/ Hi-res virtual tours of the Starfighter Aerospace fleet]

Category:American aerobatic teams Category:1995 establishments in Florida