The Captain who flew an F-106 Delta Dart upside down under the Mackinac bridge in 1969 from Selfridge AFB, MI was demoted to SSgt. and sent to Wurtsmith AFB, MI. The Mackinac bridge is the 3rd longest suspension bridge in the world with a height of 200 feet above the water at the highest point. I remember the incident when I was at Selfridge AFB. I met this SSgt. and he was trying to hide at Wurtsmith and was surprised to find the authorities closed Selfridge AFB and sent all his old officer friends to Wurtsmith. He told me he accomplished his childhood dream but as a fighter pilot he made a judgement error and was demoted for it. Had his wing man kept his mouth shut he believed he may have gotten away with the stunt. He was an excellent pilot. An incident that stands out in my mind the most was when I was called out to inspect and repair some "Battle Damage" in Michigan. The first thought in my mind was an aircraft capable of going twice the speed of sound is shot by a rifle in Michigan. Impossible! Besides if I confirmed the battle damage then inspectors from all over the country would come and inspect it for themselves and If I had made a mistake then my creditability would vaporize. After a long inspection I found a blue mark on the entry hole and no exit hole. So something blue came loose and punched a hole in the wing and should still be in there. So a part of the wing was missing, it punched a hole into the bottom of the wing, should have been in there but was missing. So I looked up at the throng of people who had gathered around and asked,"Who removed the electronic piece that came off the bottom of this wing and was lodged inside but is now missing. There is no exit hole." I confirmed this was not battle damage but an error on whoever didn't put that electronic piece on correctly. I was 100% confident I was correct and did not waver even under lots of pressure. It later turned out I was correct and the guilty party confessed. Think, I could have lost my career had I confirmed the battle damage.
Image
F-106 Delta Dart Details
Aircraft/Missile Information
Model Convair F-106A Delta Dart Length 70.70 ft | 21.55 m Width 38.29 ft | 11.67 m Height 20.28 ft | 6.18 m Engine(s) 1 x Pratt & Whitney J75-P-17 turbojet engine generating 24,500lbs thrust with afterburner. Empty Weight 24,859 lbs | 11,276 kg MTOW 41,831 lbs | 18,974 kg Max Speed 1,487 mph | 2,393 km/h | 1,292 kts Max Range 1,950 miles | 3,138 km Ceiling 58,005 ft | 17,680 m | 11.0 miles Climb Rate 30,000 ft/min (9,144 m/min) Hardpoints 4 Armament 1 x 20mm cannon
Mission specific armament may include:
2 x AIR-2A Genie Nuclear Rockets 4 x AIM-4 Falcon Air-to-Air Missiles Accommodations 1
Major Variants
* YF-102 - Single Delta Dagger prototype * YF-102A - Redesigned airframe * F-102A - Single seat interceptor * TF-102A - Two-seat trainer * F-102B - Redesignated to F-106 * YF-106A - Two prototypes produced * F-106A - Single seat interceptor * F-106B - Two-seat trainer variant
