Flying the Convair F-106 Delta Dart

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login (excerpt below)

Ask any pilot who has piloted the Six and he will quite readily tell you that it was one of the best aircraft he had ever flown. In typical delta-winged control configuration (equipped with elevons' instead of horizontal stabilizer and elevators), the Six felt much the same as any conventionally designed aircraft in flight, according to Six pilots familiar with other conventionally winged aircraft. The Six handled well at low speeds as well as high ones, even when operating at or near specified minimums. General flight characteristics of the Six fitted with the supersonic rated external fuel tanks are essentially the same as in clean' configuration, except that control at lower speeds is somewhat more demanding. Advantages of the delta wing with its high surface area included excellent performance at high altitudes, and agile turning ability at intermediate and lower altitudes. Furthermore, the Six was a straightforward and "honest" aircraft when flown within the parameters of its flight envelope. As with any advanced high-performance aircraft, however, flying beyond the envelope could occasionally become a hazardous undertaking. An indication of the structural integrity of the airframe was to be found in the fact that the original fuselage airframe lifespan of about 4,000 hours had been doubled, with no indications of its exceeding its lifetime limitations ever having been reached, in extensive ongoing structural testing.

Pilots flying the Six have described the plane's commendable feather light pitch responsiveness and its approach to a stall as being straightforward with progressive light, medium, and heavy buffeting leading to well indicated lateral instability that induced nose yaw. Any increase in angle of attack beyond the critical limit at this point and adverse yaw induced by any aileron input initiated a violent roll & pitch- up condition known as post-stall. The next step beyond this was a severe oscillation about all three axes and the likelihood of an imminent flat spin. All of these responses were predictably clear, and more than enough progressive warning of exceeding the flight specifications was given. Checks on the Six were a Mach 2 restriction, a 752 KIAS "Q" limit, and a skin temperature limit (the "AM3 gray" color that the Sixes were painted was to protect the skin from effects of high temperature, and was not solely for aesthetic effect).

377