Of all of the planes he’s flown, the F-104 Starfighter stands out as his all-time favorite. He has served as test pilot for the Messerschmitt 262 reproduction project at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Wolfgang Czaia, a pilot with more than 27,000 hours of flight time began flying gliders while still in high school in his homeland of Germany, progressing through a variety of aircraft, from the L-19, Dol-27, FW-149, T-6, T-37, T-33, T-38 and a Skyfox (a modified T-33), to a MiG-29, an Iskra Polish jet trainer and a Pilatus PT-9. (on an editorial note, some of these responses were translated, so please assume any errors are ours) Wolfgang Czaia Lieutenant Colonel William “Bill” Ongena in an F-104 cockpit. We’ll admit to being a little Starfighter-obsessed here at Warbirds News, and having a contact list full of ex-Starfighter pilots, we though it would be interesting to send them the video and ask them to comment on the maneuver. Bill tragically passed away, in of all things, a car accident, well before his time. Bill was the first of very few pilots to successfully perform it, though many subsequently tried, with some dying in the trying. Until Bill actually performed the maneuver, it was said to be impossible, though clearly it wasn’t. You’ve probably seen this video before, Legendary Belgian Air Force Silvers Aerobatic Team member, William “Bill” Ongena performing a touch-roll-touch in a Lockheed F-104G Starfighter, a plane that was infamously difficult to control at lower speeds.
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