And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
As a kid in MI's Upper Peninsula living 15 miles from Kinross/Kincheloe AFB where there were F-102 and later, F-106 fighters stationed with Air Defense Command, we heard sonic booms almost daily as they went about their "business." Good times.
I spent several summers of my distant youth prowling around the woods and fields of Northern Michigan around Hubbard Lake and I got kaboomed many times. I think they were up to F-4's by then.
May 1972-May 1973, Keflavik Naval Air Station. The USAF had F-102's and Connie early warning birds back then. I was a crew chief at the Alert Barn, 24 on, 24 off. Best duty I had in the Chair Force.
As a kid in Pittsburgh, they were running these out of Pittsburgh Intl Airport - testing the reaction to sonic booms. Dad had to replace a few windows so he didn't like it at all. He called them Delta Darts.
Gotta be one of the prototypes. The production jets looked thinner and the nose was lengthened, the fuselage was area ruled (looks like the old glass Coke bottle from above) and the vertical stab got taller. My dad worked those in the late 50's & early 60's until they were phased out & the F-106 replaced them.
Jan 1966 I moved to Nassau Bay, Tx to work at Johnson Space Center. Down SR 3 was Ellington AFB with the astronauts T-38s and National Guard F-102s. George W. Bush flew out of there. One day I heard a hell of a racket, ran outside and watched a low level dog fight right over Mission Control Center. I figure this was the culmination of a bar fight the previous night at the Officers Club. Speaking of which, I tried to go in there one night and a drunk 2nd Lt. was taking on all comers at the door. Good days....
Yeah. He applied for a transfer to Vietnam, but he didn't have enough stick time in the 102 to qualify, and by the time he did, they had pulled that aircraft out of SE Asia.
My opinion. The scene would be a heck of a lot better if the tug wasn't in the photograph.
ReplyDeleteThose guys better not stop quickly or else there'll be shish kabobs.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid in MI's Upper Peninsula living 15 miles from Kinross/Kincheloe AFB where there were F-102 and later, F-106 fighters stationed with Air Defense Command, we heard sonic booms almost daily as they went about their "business." Good times.
ReplyDeleteI spent several summers of my distant youth prowling around the woods and fields of Northern Michigan around Hubbard Lake and I got kaboomed many times. I think they were up to F-4's by then.
DeleteMay 1972-May 1973, Keflavik Naval Air Station. The USAF had F-102's and Connie early warning birds back then. I was a crew chief at the Alert Barn, 24 on, 24 off. Best duty I had in the Chair Force.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid in Pittsburgh, they were running these out of Pittsburgh Intl Airport - testing the reaction to sonic booms. Dad had to replace a few windows so he didn't like it at all. He called them Delta Darts.
ReplyDelete102 were Delta Daggers, 106s were Delta Darts!!! grayman
DeleteGotta be one of the prototypes. The production jets looked thinner and the nose was lengthened, the fuselage was area ruled (looks like the old glass Coke bottle from above) and the vertical stab got taller. My dad worked those in the late 50's & early 60's until they were phased out & the F-106 replaced them.
ReplyDeleteJan 1966 I moved to Nassau Bay, Tx to work at Johnson Space Center. Down SR 3 was Ellington AFB with the astronauts T-38s and National Guard F-102s. George W. Bush flew out of there. One day I heard a hell of a racket, ran outside and watched a low level dog fight right over Mission Control Center. I figure this was the culmination of a bar fight the previous night at the Officers Club. Speaking of which, I tried to go in there one night and a drunk 2nd Lt. was taking on all comers at the door. Good days....
ReplyDeleteIsn't the 102 what W flew?
ReplyDeleteYeah. He applied for a transfer to Vietnam, but he didn't have enough stick time in the 102 to qualify, and by the time he did, they had pulled that aircraft out of SE Asia.
Delete"Don't worry LT, we'll have you back at the air base by morning."
ReplyDelete