Jay Selman goes behind the scenes to hear the remarkable story of Europe’s only airworthy Starfighter.
Helge Andreassen has been the driving force behind getting a Starfighter airborne again in Norway. A man of considerable talents, he has a fascinating history in aviation, including flying as a pilot in the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) and for Scandinavian Airlines System. After retiring from flying airliners, he became an aircraft accident investigator for the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority.
During his time in the air force Andreassen flew the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and developed a real affection for the jet – and later, while in his third career at the Norwegian CAA in the early 2000s, he began to look at the possibility of restoring one in flying condition to represent an important aircraft of the RNoAF’s history.