The Red Baron Hangar

The Red Baron Hangar, an 83-year-old log airplane hangar at the
 Idaho Falls Airport, is one of the few remaining all-log hangars in the U.S.

(Editor's Note: An article about the famous Red Baron Hangar at the Idaho Falls Airport appeared in the March 14, 2019, edition of "The Post-Register."  A note in the article about an air speed record resulted in our digging deeper into the topic.  This blog post contains what we found.)

"In the 1970s, the hangar was used for fixed base operations by Red Baron Flying Service, an aviation company named after World War I German flying ace, Manfred von Richthofen.

The hangar housed planes built by Lockheed Martin and flown by members of the Red Baron Air Racing Team, who would go on to break airspeed records, one of which stands to this day, according to Marshall.

“The fact that it has been preserved over the years is pretty spectacular,” Marshall said. “It’s remarkable, not only the architecture but the fact it was associated with this club that did some remarkable racing.”

The full article is linked below.

https://www.postregister.com/news/local/five-idaho-falls-buildings-chronicled-as-state-landmarks-by-u/article_6346214a-f9f9-5ce3-a759-58b337bdfa0c.html

The hangar is part of a small historic district at the Idaho Falls Airport.

"The hangar and administrator's cabin were built in 1936 of hand-hewn, peeled, native white pine. No other WPA aviation structures known in the State retain this level of integrity."

https://www.nps.gov/articles/idaho-falls-airport-historic-district.htm

"This unique building was once home to two of the world'’s fastest aircraft. The RB-51, a very highly modified P-51 Mustang, held the world’'s fastest piston powered aircraft title for more than a decade. Also based here was a F-104 Starfighter whose record, the world low level speed record, still stands."

 http://www.aeromarkinc.com/

This famous F-104 was based at the Idaho Falls Red Baron hangar.

"In 1976, Darryl assembled a Starfighter from parts collected from various sources and obtained a civilian registration of N104RB ‘Red Baron.’ It was basically called a homebuilt! The wings and tail were from an F-104G, the fuselage was from a structural test item, and the reaction control system came from a NF-104.  The U.S. Navy let him “borrow” a J79-GE-10A engine, to which a water-injection system was added."  (See link below the pilot's photo.)

"He attempted to set the 3-5 kilometer absolute speed record in October 1976 at Mud Lake, Tonopah, Nev., and a speed of 1,010 mph was measured — however, one timing camera failed and so did the attempt that year. His father had filed mining claims across the lakebed on the proposed course, so he was flying over land where permission, by his dad, had been granted. This aircraft was sponsored by Ed Browning and the Red Baron Flying Service of Idaho Falls, Idaho. The following year, another attempt was made on October 24, 1977, which resulted in a new record of 988.26mph."

http://www.aerotechnews.com/blog/2018/11/16/an-aviation-icon-gone-west-darryl-greenamyer/

"STARFIGHTERS" team in 2001 with the late Tom Rick "Comrade" Svetkoff (right) Tom "Sharkbait" Delashaw (left). copyright © "Starfighters" archive.

"The idea was captivating. Owning one of these exotic craft would be like marrying Raquel Welch or Marilyn Monroe."

Below is a link to the best article we could find about the thrill of flying the F-104.

 https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/the-fastest-show-on-earth-1983834/?page=1

You can hear The Howl several times in this 8:31 video

https://youtu.be/rf7HB9o4eGU

And, finally, The F-104 Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-104_Starfighter