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57-642: The F-106 was designed in response to the 1954 interceptor program. Envisioned as an imagined "Ultimate Interceptor", it was a development of the F-102 Delta Dagger , and commenced as the F-102B prior to being redesignated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The F-106 was designed without a gun or provision for carrying bombs, instead carrying its AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missiles within an internal weapons bay, its clean exterior

114-521: A flat spin after its pilot had ejected, belly landing relatively intact in a snow-covered field; it was recovered and continued to be flown for numerous years afterwards. The F-106 was gradually withdrawn from USAF service during the 1980s as the arrival of newer air superiority fighters , particularly the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle , had made the role of dedicated interceptors obsolete. Numerous F-106s would be operated for

171-499: A gun, or provision for carrying bombs, but it carried its missiles in an internal weapons bay for clean supersonic flight. It was armed with four Hughes AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missiles (either AIM-4G infra-red guided missiles or semi-active radar homing (SARH)-guided (which detected reflected radar signals) AIM-4E/F missiles), along with a single 1.5 kiloton -warhead AIR-2 (MB-2) Genie unguided air-to-air rocket intended to be fired into enemy bomber formations. Like its predecessor,

228-612: A mock-up with the expected layout of the MX-1179, now known as the MA-1, was inspected and approved. On 18 April 1956, an extended production contract for 17 F-102Bs was issued to Convair, representing substantially fewer aircraft than had been originally anticipated at this stage. On 17 June of that year, the aircraft was officially re-designated as the F-106A. On 18 August 1956, the USAF issued

285-525: A performance gain over the F-102 than had been anticipated. Specifically, both the acceleration and maximum speed were beneath Convair's own estimates. Furthermore, both the engine and avionics proved to be somewhat unreliable. These combined problems, and the delays associated with them, were nearly responsible for the termination of the program. However, the service decided to persist with the F-106 program after

342-519: A redesigned vertical tail surface was used. The engine's two-position afterburner exhaust nozzle was also used for idle thrust control, held open to decrease thrust by 40%, resulting in slower taxiing and less brake wear. Throughout its early development, the F-102B had to compete for attention and resources with the F-102A; the aviation author Marcelle Knaack observed that there were fewer funds to develop

399-473: A single-stage turbine. The combustion system was novel in that ten connected flame tubes were housed within a cannular system: a hybrid of separate flame cans and a true annular system. Separate combustion cans would have exceeded the diameter beyond the design limit, and a true annular system was considered too advanced. In 1950, Dr (later Sir) Stanley Hooker was appointed as Chief Engineer of Bristol Aero Engines. The BOl.1 first ran on 16 May 1950 and

456-581: A slightly upgraded version of the MX-1 already in use on subsonic designs. The resulting aircraft became the F-102A, and in spite of being considered barely suitable for its mission, the Air Force sent out a production contract in March 1954, under which the first deliveries were expected during the following year. By December 1951, the Air Force had already turned its attention to a further improved version, which

513-482: A systems development directive that called for development and production of the F-106 to occur simultaneously; Knaack attributed this policy as being responsible for several later problems in the program. During April 1957, the USAF formally rejected Convair's F-102C proposal (essentially a reengined model of the F-102) to concentrate on the more advanced F-106 program, which it had then anticipated to enter service during

570-644: A time by the Air National Guard . Many withdrawn aircraft were promptly converted into target drones and redesignated QF-106 under the Pacer Six program, which were used up in 1998. A handful of F-106s were operated by NASA for experimental purposes, such as the Eclipse Project , through to 1998. The F-106 was the ultimate development of the USAF's 1954 interceptor program of the early 1950s. The initial winner of this competition had been

627-453: A world speed record of 1,525.96 mph (2,455.79 km/h) in a Delta Dart at 40,500 ft (12,300 m). That year, Charles E. Myers flew the same model aircraft at 1,544 mph (2,484 km/h). The F-106 was envisaged as a specialized all-weather missile-armed interceptor to shoot down bombers. It was complemented by other Century Series fighters for other roles such as daylight air superiority or fighter-bombing. To support its role,

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684-450: The F-102 Delta Dagger , but early versions of this aircraft had demonstrated extremely poor performance, being limited to flying at subsonic speeds and relatively low altitudes. During the testing program the F-102 underwent numerous changes to improve its performance, notably the application of the area rule to the fuselage shaping and a change of engine, and the dropping of the advanced MX-1179 fire control system and its replacement with

741-634: The Pratt & Whitney J57 , first-run in January 1950. It is best known as the powerplant of the Avro Vulcan and later models in the Concorde SST . The design dates to a November 1946 proposal by Bristol Aeroplane Company for a jet-powered bomber, powered by four new engines which would be supplied by Bristol Aero Engines . Although their bomber design was ultimately cancelled in favour of

798-512: The "ultimate interceptor" that the USAF had originally sought. However, while initial work on the Olympus design appeared to go well, by August 1953 Wright was already a full year behind schedule in development. Continued development did not resolve problems with the engine, and in early 1955 the Air Force approved the switch to the Pratt & Whitney J75 . The J75 was somewhat larger than the J57 in

855-609: The Air Defense Command had heavily advocated for it. Based upon the test data submitted, USAF officials had determined that modifications to the inlet duct cowling and charging ejectors were likely to increase both acceleration and speed; modifications would be made following the completion of Category II testing and were evaluated during Category III testing. At this stage, the service enacted several measures to hasten development towards production; in April 1957, it authorized

912-569: The Bristol Siddeley Olympus Mk 320, powered the cancelled BAC TSR-2 supersonic strike aircraft. For Concorde , this was developed during the 1960s into the Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 , being further developed through several subsequent versions to eventually provide reliable airline service. The Olympus 593 is a prime example of "propulsion and airframe integration". To optimise the performance of

969-568: The F-102 Delta Dagger, it could carry a drop tank under each wing. Later fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle carried missiles recessed in the fuselage or externally, but stealth aircraft would re-adopt the idea of carrying missiles or bombs internally for reduced radar signature . The first ejection seat fitted to early F-106s was a variation of

1026-414: The F-102A, and had greater mass flow. This demanded changes to the inlets to allow more airflow, and led to the further refinement of using a somewhat shorter variable-geometry inlet duct to allow the intakes to be tuned to best performance across a wide range of supersonic speeds. The fuselage grew slightly longer, and was cleaned up and simplified in many ways. The wing was slightly enlarged in area, and

1083-530: The F-106 and the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II determined the latter to be marginally superior, yet the type continued to be operated for a further two decades due to extensive demand for the F-4 in other roles. Convair proposed various improved models of the F-106, typically focused on the radar , communications, and other avionics, but none of these schemes were pursued. In one high-profile incident over Montana on 2 February 1970, an unmanned F-106 recovered from

1140-653: The F-106 in 1981, with "The Sixes" typically passed on to Air National Guard units. The F-106 remained in service in various USAF and ANG units until 1988. Between 1 June 1983 and 1 August 1988 the Delta Darts were incrementally retired and sent to the Military Storage and Disposition Center in Arizona. When the need for a high performance Full Scaled Aerial Target Drone was required, the USAF began withdrawing Delta Darts from storage. Starting in 1986, 194 of

1197-540: The F-106 proved a disappointment for dogfighting over Vietnam. The F-4 had a higher thrust/weight ratio with superior climb, better high speed/low-altitude maneuverability and could be used as a fighter-bomber. Air combat experience over Vietnam showed the need for increased pilot visibility and the utility of a built-in gun, which had been added to the "E" variant of USAF Phantoms. In 1972, some F-106As were upgraded in Project Six Shooter that involved fitting

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1254-570: The F-106 was Mach 2.3, during the lightning experiments it was flown at subsonic speeds into clouds at 300 knots (350 miles per hour; 560 kilometres per hour) from 5,000 to 40,000 feet (1,500 to 12,200 metres). The aircraft was equipped with optical sensors which consisted of a video camera and a light detector. Data acquisition was performed with 1980s state of the art digital waveform recorders . NASA used six drones in its Eclipse Project which ran from 1997 to 1998. The Dryden Flight Research Center supported project Eclipse which sought to demonstrate

1311-562: The F-106 was equipped with the Hughes MA-1 integrated fire-control system , which could be linked to the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) network for ground control interception (GCI) missions, allowing the aircraft to be steered by controllers. The MA-1 proved extremely troublesome and was eventually upgraded more than 60 times in service. Similarly to the F-102, the F-106 was designed without

1368-480: The F-106 with a new canopy without metal bracing which greatly improved pilot visibility. Also added was an optical gunsight and provision for a M61 Vulcan 20 mm cannon . The M61 Vulcan had 650 rounds of ammunition in the center of the weapons bay, being used in place of the AIR-2 Genie. Many F-106 units opted to fly without the gun, retaining their nuclear payload instead. The F-15A Eagle started replacing

1425-557: The Mk 101, entered service in late 1952 at a rated thrust of 11,000 lb, a weight of 3,650 lb, and with a TBO of 250 hours. The Olympus was developed extensively throughout its production run, and the many variants can be described as belonging to four main groups. Initial non-reheat variants were designed and produced by Bristol Aero Engines and Bristol Siddeley and powered the subsonic Avro Vulcan . These engines were further developed by Rolls-Royce Limited . The first reheat variant,

1482-699: The Olympus remains in service as both a marine and industrial gas turbine. At the end of World War II, the Bristol Engine Company's major effort was the development of the Hercules and Centaurus radial piston engines. By the end of 1946, the company had only 10 hours of turbojet experience with a small experimental engine called the Phoebus which was the gas generator or core of the Proteus turboprop then in development. In early 1947,

1539-689: The QF-100 Super Sabre drone; the last shoot down of a QF-106 (57-2524) took place at Holloman AFB on 20 February 1997 after which the QF-106 was superseded by the QF-4S and QF-4E Phantom II drone. Six F-106s were retained by NASA for test purposes through 1998. An F-106B two-seat trainer was operated by NASA Langley Research Center between 1979 and 1991. This Delta Dart was used in research programs ranging from testing supersonic engines to improving maneuverability of fighters. Between 1980 and 1986

1596-525: The USAF ultimately only ordered 350 of the planned 1,000 F-106s. Becoming operational in June 1959, the F-106 was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft of the USAF through much of the Cold War era; it ended up being the final specialist interceptor to be used by the service to date. It was never used in combat nor were any export opportunities secured. During the 1960s, a competitive evaluation between

1653-601: The USAF was directed to conduct Operation Highspeed, a flyoff competition between the USAF F-106A and the U.S. Navy F4H-1 (F-4B) Phantom, which was not only as capable as the F-106 as a missile-armed interceptor but could carry as large a bomb load as the Republic F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber. The Phantom was the winner but would first be used to escort and later replace the F-105 fighter-bomber in

1710-540: The Weber interim seat was the Convair/ICESC (Industry Crew Escape System Committee) Supersonic Rotational B-seat, called the supersonic "bobsled", hence the B designation. It was designed with supersonic ejection as the primary criterion since the F-106 was capable of Mach -2 performance. Fighter pilots viewed high speed ejections as the most important. Seat designers viewed an ejection at low altitude and slow speed as

1767-653: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.237 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 205215945 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:47:22 GMT Bristol Olympus The Rolls-Royce Olympus (originally the Bristol B.E.10 Olympus ) was the world's second two- spool axial-flow turbojet aircraft engine design, first run in May 1950 and preceded only by

Convair F-106 Delta Dart - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-477: The aircraft was modified for the purpose of lightning strike research and became known as the Lightning Strike Plane and was struck 714 times without damage. On one hour-long flight at 38,000 feet (12,000 metres) in 1984, lightning struck the research aircraft 72 times. One significant modification was the replacement of the composite nose radome by a metallic radome. Although the maximum speed of

1881-823: The aircraft. The resulting change of balance caused the aircraft to stabilize and later belly land in a snow-covered field, suffering only minor damage. The aircraft, promptly nicknamed "The Cornfield Bomber", was then sent back to base by rail, repaired and returned to service, and is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force . Data from Quest for Performance , Convair Deltas General characteristics Performance Armament Avionics Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists 1954 interceptor Too Many Requests If you report this error to

1938-595: The conditional acceptance of several F-106s being used by Convair for flight testing; it also took several quick decisions to settle outstanding development questions. By mid-1957, funding for 120 F-106As had been allocated. The USAF ultimately opted to order 350 F-106s, substantially fewer than the planned fleet of 1,000 aircraft. Deliveries of the single-seat F-106A and the twin-seat F-106B combat-capable trainer variant commenced to 15 fighter interceptor squadrons in October 1959. On 15 December 1959, Major Joseph W. Rogers set

1995-521: The engine when used at speeds from takeoff up to Mach 2 on Concorde, a variable intake and a variable throat nozzle with thrust reversing system were developed. Looking ahead to future supersonic transports, due to noise limits for supersonic transport category airplanes, studies were conducted on ejector suppressors, leading to the conclusion that "a new, low bypass ratio version of the 593 could be suitable for future generations of supersonic transport aircraft". The American Curtiss-Wright company tested

2052-512: The feasibility of a reusable Aerotow- launch vehicle . The objective was to tow, inflight, a modified QF-106 aircraft with a C-141A transport aircraft. The test demonstrated the possibility of towing and launching a space launch vehicle from behind a tow plane. On 2 February 1970, an F-106 of the 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron , piloted by Captain Gary Foust, entered a flat spin over Montana . Foust followed procedures and ejected from

2109-552: The first flight engines, designated Olympus Mk 99, were fitted into a Canberra WD952 which first flew with these engines derated to 8,000 lbf (36 kN) thrust in August 1952. In May 1953, this aircraft reached a world record altitude of 63,668 ft (19,406 m). Fitted with more powerful Mk 102 engines, the Canberra increased the record to 65,876 ft (20,079 m) in August 1955. The first production Olympus,

2166-408: The following year. On 26 December 1956, the first prototype F-106, an aerodynamic test bed, performed its maiden flight from Edwards Air Force Base . On 26 February 1957, the second prototype, which was outfitted with a fuller set of equipment, made its first flight. Early flight testing around the end of 1956 and beginning of 1957 demonstrated somewhat disappointing results, having achieved less of

2223-652: The initial design used a low-pressure (LP) axial compressor and a high-pressure (HP) centrifugal compressor , each being driven by its own single-stage turbine . This two-spool design eliminated the need for features such as variable inlet guide vanes (Avon, J79), inlet ramps (J65), variable stators (J79) or compressor bleed (Avon) which were required on single spool compressors with pressure ratios above about 6:1. Without these features an engine could not be started nor run at low speeds without destructive blade vibrations. Nor could they accelerate to high speeds with fast acceleration times (" spool up ") without surge . The design

2280-537: The late 1960s before replacing older interceptors in Air Defense Command in the 1970s. The F-106 was progressively updated in service, with improved avionics , a modified wing featuring a noticeable conical camber, an infrared search and track system, streamlined supersonic wing tanks which provided virtually no degradation to overall aircraft performance, better instrumentation and features like an inflight refuelling receptacle and an arrestor hook for landing emergencies. Air-to-air combat testing suggested "The Six"

2337-427: The more capable systems of the F-102B, which would have been useful in more quickly overcoming some of the technical difficulties that arose. The number of F-102As on order grew substantially beyond that which had been originally forecast, indicative of the growing importance attached to what had once been intended to be an interim or 'stop-gap' aircraft to fill in until the F-102B could be delivered. During December 1955,

Convair F-106 Delta Dart - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-747: The most likely possibility. The ejection sequence with the B-seat was quite complicated and there were some unsuccessful ejections that resulted in pilot fatalities. The third seat, that replaced the Convair B-seat, was the Weber Zero-Zero ROCAT (for Rocket Catapult) seat. Weber Aircraft Corporation designed a "zero-zero" seat to operate at up to 600 knots (690 miles per hour; 1,100 kilometres per hour). High-altitude supersonic ejections were rare and ejections at relatively low altitudes and low speeds were more likely. The Weber "zero-zero" seat

2451-573: The other V bombers , the engine design's use of twin-spool layout led to continued interest from the Air Ministry and continued development funding. The engine first ran in 1950 and quickly outperformed its design goals. Initially used in the Vulcan, later versions added reheat for use in the supersonic BAC TSR-2 . Bristol Aero Engines merged with Armstrong Siddeley Motors in 1959 to form Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited (BSEL), which in turn

2508-711: The parent Bristol Aeroplane Company submitted a proposal for a medium-range bomber to the same specification B.35/46 which led to the Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor . The Bristol design was the Type 172 and was to be powered by four or six Bristol engines of 9,000 lbf (40 kN) thrust to the Ministry engine specification TE.1/46. The thrust required of the new engine, then designated B.E.10 (later Olympus), would initially be 9,000 lbf (40 kN) with growth potential to 12,000 lbf (53 kN). The pressure ratio would be an unheard of 9:1. To achieve this,

2565-425: The seat used by the F-102 and was called the Weber interim seat. It was a catapult seat which used an explosive charge to propel it clear of the aircraft. This seat was not a zero-zero seat and was inadequate for ejections at supersonic speeds as well as ground level ejections and ejections at speeds below 120 knots (140 miles per hour; 220 kilometres per hour) and 2,000 feet (610 metres). The second seat that replaced

2622-559: The start of 1961; this can be partially attributed to two major modification and retrofit program conducted during this timeframe. Following the resolution of initial teething problems – in particular an ejection seat that killed the first 12 pilots to eject from the aircraft – its exceptional performance led to the aircraft becoming relatively popular amongst its pilots. The F-106 served in the contiguous US, Alaska, and Iceland, as well as for brief periods in Germany and South Korea. The F-106

2679-546: The surviving surplus aircraft were converted into target drones and these were designated QF-106A s and used for target practice vehicles under the Pacer Six Program by the Aerial Targets Squadron . The last was destroyed in January 1998. The drones were still capable of being flown as manned aircraft, such as for ferrying to a test; during the test they were flown unmanned. The QF-106 replaced

2736-754: The withdrawal of various older aircraft that were being used in the interceptor role, such as the North American F-86 Sabre and the Northrop F-89 Scorpion . Although contemplated for use in the Vietnam War , the F-106 never saw combat, nor was it exported to foreign users. After the cancellation of their own Avro Arrow , the Canadian government briefly considered purchasing the F-106C/D. To standardize aircraft types,

2793-529: Was a reasonable match for the F-4 Phantom II in a dogfight, with superior high-altitude turn performance and overall maneuverability (aided by the aircraft's lower wing loading ). The Phantom had better radar – operated by an additional crewman – and could carry a load of up to four radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow and four infrared AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, while the AIM-4 Falcon missiles carried by

2850-515: Was beneficial to supersonic flight. Major differences from the F-102 included the adoption of the more powerful Pratt & Whitney J75 turbojet engine, heavily redesigned air inlets along with a variable-geometry inlet duct to suit a wide range of supersonic speeds, application of the area rule to the fuselage shaping, and a general increase in size. On 26 December 1956, the first prototype performed its maiden flight . After flight testing demonstrated lesser performance gains than anticipated,

2907-483: Was designed to produce 9,140 lbf (40.7 kN) thrust and to be free from destructive rotating stall on start up to idle speed and to be free from surging on fast accelerations to maximum thrust. The engine started without a problem and Hooker, supervising the first test run and displaying the confidence he had in the design, slammed the throttle to give a surge-free acceleration to maximum power. The thrustmeter showed 10,000 lbf (44 kN). The next development

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2964-404: Was initially referred to as the F-102B. The main planned change was the replacement of the F-102A's Pratt & Whitney J57 (which had itself replaced the original J40) with the more powerful Wright J67 (a Bristol Olympus produced under license ). By the time this engine would be available, the MX-1179 was expected to be available, and thus it was selected as well. The intended result would be

3021-512: Was progressively modified and the centrifugal HP compressor was replaced by an axial HP compressor. This reduced the diameter of the new engine to the design specification of 40 in (100 cm). The Bristol Type 172 was cancelled though development continued for the Avro Vulcan and other projects. The first engine, its development designation being BOl.1 (Bristol Olympus 1), had six LP compressor stages and eight HP stages, each driven by

3078-452: Was satisfactory and was retrofitted to the F-106 after 1965. Early operations of the F-106 were troubled by numerous technical issues. These included generator defects, fuel-flow issues (particularly during cold weather), and combustor-starter malfunctions. During December 1959, all F-106s were temporarily grounded following the accidental jettisoning of the canopy mid-flight on one aircraft. Many, but not all, of these problems were resolved by

3135-587: Was taken over by Rolls-Royce in 1966. Through this period the engine was further developed as the Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 for Concorde. Versions of the engine were licensed to Curtiss-Wright in the US as the TJ-32 or J67 (military designation) and the TJ-38 'Zephyr', although none saw use. The Olympus was also developed with success as marine and industrial gas turbines , which were highly successful. As of 2018,

3192-524: Was the BOl.1/2 which produced 9,500 lbf (42 kN) thrust in December 1950. Examples of the similar BOl.1/2A were constructed for US manufacturer Curtiss-Wright which had bought a licence for developing the engine as the TJ-32 or J67 for the projected F-102 . The somewhat revised BOl.1/2B, ran in December 1951 producing 9,750 lbf (43.4 kN) thrust. The engine was by now ready for air testing and

3249-465: Was the second highest sequentially numbered P/F- aircraft to enter service under the old number sequence (the F-111 was highest), before the system was reset under the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system . In service, the F-106's official name, "Delta Dart," was rarely used, and the aircraft was universally known simply as "The Six." The arrival of the F-106 in quantity quickly led to

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