An extensively modified F-102 Delta Dagger
Under the designation F-102B, a significantly modified version of the F-102 Delta Dagger was created in 1955. Nevertheless, the changes were so significant that the designation was ultimately modified to F-106 Delta Dart. The fuselage was altered to make room for a more powerful Pratt & Whitney J-75 turbojet, but the delta wing remained the same. To optimize engine performance at all speeds, the engine intakes were moved behind the cockpit and were variable. The fin and rudder changed shape, and the cockpit was shifted forward relative to the aircraft. A new undercarriage with twin-nose steerable wheels was fitted.
NASA F-106 Delta Dart
The Delta Dart featured in this post’s photo is F-106B Serial # 57-2516. The aircraft was delivered to NASA, redesignated NF-106B, and known as NASA 816 Lightening Strike Burns.
This F-106B was transferred to Langley Research Center and renumbered N816NA for a role it would serve for almost six years beginning on Jan. 29, 1979, after flying as N616NA for NASA’s Lewis Research Center in Cleveland for many years in studies relating to supersonic transport. N816NA became a part of NASA’s Storm Hazards Program to research how lightning strikes affect aircraft.
In his book Convair Deltas: From SeaDart to Hustler, Bill Yenne tells how the program started the year before, in 1978, using De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft that would fly on the fringes of thunderstorms to collect lightning data for N816NA’s penetration flights.
The modified Delta Dart would be flown into thunderstorms to trigger lightning strikes. Mainly operating off the coast of Virginia and at various locations in the US Midwest, the Delta Dart would fly as low as 3,500 feet up to as high as 50,000 feet on its penetration flights. In its time with the Storm Hazards Program, N816NA made 1,496 thunderstorm penetrations and was struck by lightning 714 times. In a single flight in 1984, it was struck 72 times in the space of only 45 minutes while penetrating a thunderstorm at 38,000 feet!
The data collected during the course of the program proved to be extremely valuable to both commercial and military aviation and represented a significant step in aviation safety.
Photo by NASA
