Made during the Cold War, this historic film in German shows the F-104 Starfighter being tested as part of SATS, Short Air Field for Tactical Support or SATS and its counterpart the ZELL program. The zero-length launch system or zero-length take-off system (ZLL, ZLTO, ZEL, ZELL) was a system whereby jet fighters and attack aircraft were intended to be placed on large JATO rockets attached to mobile launch platforms. Most zero length launch experiments took place in the 1950s, during the Cold War. Both SATS and ZELL fell victim to the revised NATO strategy “Flexible Response” and were therefore not pursued beyond the test programs.
For more information see: http://www.rolfferch.de/F104G/html/projekte.html
SATS was a test program for take-off and landing on short tracks with the help of catapults and catch hooks, similar to aircraft carriers. Three German F-104Gs were modified accordingly, including a reinforcement of the landing gear and the installation of two catapult hooks. The tests were carried out at the Naval Air Test Facility in Lakehurst, USA. In total, a few hundred take-offs and landings were successfully completed. Indirectly, this later led to the introduction of fishing facilities at federal jet airports.
A SATS airfield included the start-up caterpillar and two LM 1500 gas engines (J79 engine gas generators), a runway with landing gear and the usual airfield facilities. This track consisted of aluminum plates that could be laid quickly. In 1962/63, an F-104G use of SATS was tested by the Naval Air System Command and the serial numbers 8007 (23 + 32), 2080 (20 + 68) and 9005 (25 + Changes and requirements and a further improved SATS system. Over 500 catapulting operations were carried out without accident and major problems. SATS-fishing facility It could be shown that the technical modifications met the requirements. Problems initially prepared the catch hook system, which was partly overstrained with the fast F-104G and experienced various adaptations. In March 1965 the flight trials in Lakehurst were successfully completed. In May 1965, the navy withdrew from the project and in the summer the facility built in Jagel was dismantled. After the pioneers at the Flugplatz Lager-Lechfeld had erected a SATS system in the summer and autumn of 1965, the official test could be initiated by the testing station 61 Manching for the approval of the SATS procedure and the changes to the aircraft for a troop test. On 16 December 1965, the US Navy carried out a demonstration of the catapult and the landing gear with the DA + 257 (W / N 8007, later identification 23 + 32).
The first tests with different configurations and a first launch in April 1963 found the DA + 102 (s / n 2002, subsequent identification 20 + 02) at Edwards AFB instead. In a subsequent phase, the troop testing was launched with the DB + 127 on the German airliner Lechfeld with their first start on 4 May 1966. This Lfz had already been equipped with the new Zero-Zero rescue seat Martin Baker GQ-7A. The first flight over the Lechfeld lasted 51 minutes. In one place, the booster burnt with perchlorate fuel was dropped. Each of these starts cost 115,000 DM at the time.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
