Convair F-106A Delta Dart
Since the F-102A Delta Dagger’s performance was below that hoped for the US Air Force’s “1954 Interceptor,” it was put into production as a temporary design until the more advanced F-102B could enter production. The F-102B was designated the “Ultimate Interceptor” and would indeed be considered the last word in jet interceptors of the 1950s. So many design changes were made that the USAF redesignated the F-102B the F-106A Delta Dart, the sixth and last of the named Century Series designs.
The F-106 was slightly larger than its predecessor and far more aerodynamically clean, incorporating area rule from the start. It also had a larger engine, the J75, which required more airflow than the F-102’s J57: the F-106 would subsequently be the first USAF aircraft to be equipped with a variable geometry intake. By the time the prototype YF-106 was ready in December 1956, the Hughes MA-1 fire control system, which had been the original premise for both Convair deltas, was finally ready. The F-106 would share a similar armament to the F-102, with AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missiles, though it could also carry a single AIR-2 Genie nuclear-tipped rocket, which the F-102 could not. Flight performance was good, with a speed twice that of the F-102, and pilots reported that the “Six,” as it was rapidly nicknamed, was easier to fly than the “Deuce.” However, it suffered from teething problems with the MA-1 fire control system, along with various other avionics problems, and the USAF sliced the anticipated order of a thousand Delta Darts to only a little over 300. The first F-106A reached the USAF in October 1959. A two-seat conversion trainer, the F-106B, soon followed.
Initially, the F-106 was not well received. While it had more than adequate performance, the MA-1 proved to be a nightmare, vision from the cockpit was poor, and the ejection seat was deadly to anyone who used it. Convair responded with a plethora of changes, including a redesigned wing, a better ejection seat, the same infrared “turret” used by the F-102, inflight refuelling, and better avionics. With these improvements, the accident rate dropped and F-106 pilots found they could even compete effectively with the latest F-4E Phantom IIs entering service in the late 1960s. The Six had gone from being reviled to being loved.
With this and the Vietnam experience in mind, the USAF further upgraded the F-106 beginning in 1970 with Project Six-Shooter: this update added a General Electric M61 Vulcan 20mm gatling cannon in the weapons bay, an optical gunsight, and a redesigned, frameless canopy. (Though all F-106s received the frameless canopy, not all got the full Six-Shooter package.) Even more advanced F-106 variants were considered, but production of the F-15 Eagle ended those plans. The USAF withdrew its active-duty F-106s from service in 1979, but it would soldier on admirably in Air National Guard service until 1988, while NASA chase planes would remain until 1998. It would be the last of the Century Series to be retired. 342 were built; at least 22 survive in museums. Most surviving F-106s were converted to QF-106 drones and expended as targets until the last was shot down in 2003.
59-0003 was one of the last F-106s delivered to the USAF, and entered service in 1960 with the 5th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron ("Spittin' Kittens") at Minot AFB, North Dakota. Unusually for any fighter aircraft, 59-0003 remained with the 5th for almost its entire career (save two years in 1961-1962 with the 32nd FIS, also at Minot). It was retired in 1985 when the 5th reequipped with F-15 Eagles. 59-0003 remained at AMARG in the Arizona desert until 1992, by which time most of the remaining F-106 fleet were being converted to drones. It was chosen for preservation and donated to the Pima Air and Space Museum.
I've photographed 59-0003 before, when it was on public display at Pima, but in May 2021, we got a chance to visit the restoration area--the museum's "backyard"--and I noticed the aircraft. 59-0003 has been stripped of paint in preparation for a complete restoration. (It will return to the 5th FIS' colors; I asked one of the curators if they could restore it to my hometown 120th FIG's colors, but no.) While not the most flattering view of a Six, this shows the process of restoration taken by the museum on its aircraft.
Convair F-106A Delta Dart
Since the F-102A Delta Dagger’s performance was below that hoped for the US Air Force’s “1954 Interceptor,” it was put into production as a temporary design until the more advanced F-102B could enter production. The F-102B was designated the “Ultimate Interceptor” and would indeed be considered the last word in jet interceptors of the 1950s. So many design changes were made that the USAF redesignated the F-102B the F-106A Delta Dart, the sixth and last of the named Century Series designs.
The F-106 was slightly larger than its predecessor and far more aerodynamically clean, incorporating area rule from the start. It also had a larger engine, the J75, which required more airflow than the F-102’s J57: the F-106 would subsequently be the first USAF aircraft to be equipped with a variable geometry intake. By the time the prototype YF-106 was ready in December 1956, the Hughes MA-1 fire control system, which had been the original premise for both Convair deltas, was finally ready. The F-106 would share a similar armament to the F-102, with AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missiles, though it could also carry a single AIR-2 Genie nuclear-tipped rocket, which the F-102 could not. Flight performance was good, with a speed twice that of the F-102, and pilots reported that the “Six,” as it was rapidly nicknamed, was easier to fly than the “Deuce.” However, it suffered from teething problems with the MA-1 fire control system, along with various other avionics problems, and the USAF sliced the anticipated order of a thousand Delta Darts to only a little over 300. The first F-106A reached the USAF in October 1959. A two-seat conversion trainer, the F-106B, soon followed.
Initially, the F-106 was not well received. While it had more than adequate performance, the MA-1 proved to be a nightmare, vision from the cockpit was poor, and the ejection seat was deadly to anyone who used it. Convair responded with a plethora of changes, including a redesigned wing, a better ejection seat, the same infrared “turret” used by the F-102, inflight refuelling, and better avionics. With these improvements, the accident rate dropped and F-106 pilots found they could even compete effectively with the latest F-4E Phantom IIs entering service in the late 1960s. The Six had gone from being reviled to being loved.
With this and the Vietnam experience in mind, the USAF further upgraded the F-106 beginning in 1970 with Project Six-Shooter: this update added a General Electric M61 Vulcan 20mm gatling cannon in the weapons bay, an optical gunsight, and a redesigned, frameless canopy. (Though all F-106s received the frameless canopy, not all got the full Six-Shooter package.) Even more advanced F-106 variants were considered, but production of the F-15 Eagle ended those plans. The USAF withdrew its active-duty F-106s from service in 1979, but it would soldier on admirably in Air National Guard service until 1988, while NASA chase planes would remain until 1998. It would be the last of the Century Series to be retired. 342 were built; at least 22 survive in museums. Most surviving F-106s were converted to QF-106 drones and expended as targets until the last was shot down in 2003.
59-0003 was one of the last F-106s delivered to the USAF, and entered service in 1960 with the 5th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron ("Spittin' Kittens") at Minot AFB, North Dakota. Unusually for any fighter aircraft, 59-0003 remained with the 5th for almost its entire career (save two years in 1961-1962 with the 32nd FIS, also at Minot). It was retired in 1985 when the 5th reequipped with F-15 Eagles. 59-0003 remained at AMARG in the Arizona desert until 1992, by which time most of the remaining F-106 fleet were being converted to drones. It was chosen for preservation and donated to the Pima Air and Space Museum.
I've photographed 59-0003 before, when it was on public display at Pima, but in May 2021, we got a chance to visit the restoration area--the museum's "backyard"--and I noticed the aircraft. 59-0003 has been stripped of paint in preparation for a complete restoration. (It will return to the 5th FIS' colors; I asked one of the curators if they could restore it to my hometown 120th FIG's colors, but no.) While not the most flattering view of a Six, this shows the process of restoration taken by the museum on its aircraft.