Will F-104 Have ZEL?

[Mike Force Team]

On YouTube, I found videos made in the 1950s or 1960's showing the Luftwaffe's F-104 doing ZEL. Will Aerges offer this for the F-104?

Mike Force Team 

[VFXBLENDER]

It actually would be quite cool for Aerges to offer this option, especially if they want to make flying the plane an immersive and historically accurate experience.

[Mike Force Team]

Thank you @VFXBLENDER for your response.

i saw the YouTube videos showing the use of ZELL in the United States and West Germany in the 1950's and 1960's.

I don't know if there is any publicly available information for the ZELL systems on the F-104. 

When I saw the Aerges F-104 videos showing their latest updates, I imagined the ZELL system might have been an option. I saw myself and F-104 strapped to the booster rocket just waiting to launch and go after the bad guys. This would be great for the CW Germany map.

Mike Force Team 

Edited April 28 by Mike Force Team

[VFXBLENDER]

Is there any way, unless Aerges is already working on the ZELL feature for the F-104, to get this suggestion to them? 'Cause there might still be a chance to implement the feature into the module if we notify them as soon as possible, unless the module's already late in development.

[SOLIDKREATE]

Oh this would be awesome. How widley was it used though. It would be like the boosters for the Mig-21.

[Mike Force Team]

@SOLIDKREATE I agree the ZEL would be wonderful for the F-104, especially the CW Germany map.

I saw a YouTube video made in the mid-1960's showing test video footage of the Luftwaffe using the ZEL. The ZEL system seemed to work as designed, but had limitations. Eventually, the ZEL was phased out because advances in Soviet radars and SAM missle systems negated any benefits.

Mike Force Team 

[VFXBLENDER]

Still it would be a great addition for immersion, and would be something new and cool for players to experience. And in custom missions they would be able to add their own launchpads if they wanted some; and it would just be awesome to be flying over the land and seeing enemy planes shooting into the sky like rockets and heading towards you. Great for CAP missions, especially if you wanted a bit of an unexpected surprise on a seemingly normal flight. The feature could also be added to the MIG-19, as it also used it in its time.

[LightningNut]

As a fun 'gimmick,' ZEL would probably sell quite a few licenses! The 104's mystique is based on the unusual design and aesthetic, namely those iddy-biddy wings, and high performance for the day.  Adding a completely unique rocket-up-the-bum launch option would make the plane even more fun and appealing, I'd think.  

[Bremspropeller]

On 4/29/2025 at 8:49 AM, SOLIDKREATE said:

Oh this would be awesome. How widley was it used though. It would be like the boosters for the Mig-21.

It wasn't used at all, after a couple of test launches in the US and Lechfeld. It trailblazed the Martin Baker ejection seat modification, though.

 

[Mike Force Team]

@Bremspropeller I agree. The ejection seats company would be earning additional business from the US military. 

i know the ZEL was field tested in the 1950s and 1960s. While ZEL did work as advertised, it had many shortcomings. In the end, the system was phased out.

Mike Force Team