Soon to become ‘616’, day of delivery to NASA from USAF, 31OCT1966. NASA photo.
In 1966, NASA took possession of a USAF F-106B that had been used to test ejection seats and radar systems.
NASA photo, 1969.
NASA photo.
Something different about this F-106B.
NASA photo, 1969.
NASA tail code 616 while in use at Lewis Research Center, Ohio, and changed to 816 while at Langley Research Center, Virginia. USAF tail code 72516.
NASA photo, 1969.
NASA photo, 1969.
F-106B and its F-8 Crusader ‘chase’ plane. NASA photo, 1969.
F-106B before the J85 engines were mounted. NASA photo, 1968.
A lot of surgery and load-testing. 2-thousand-5-hundred pounds of weapon system hardware were removed.
The electrics/wiring was stripped. NASA photo, 1966.
NASA photo, 1966.
Elevon load test, NASA photo, 1967.
NASA photo, 1967.
1:20 scale wind tunnel model. NASA photo, 1967.
‘616’ after the internal modification, but before the J85 surgery. NASA photo, 1968.
Two aircraft tractors used to manipulate the ‘vertical load tester’ device. NASA photo, 1968.
NASA photo, 1968.
Rear lateral load tester. NASA photo, 1968.
Looking like the rear load tester, NASA claims this is the “front mount side load tester”. NASA photo, 1968.
NASA photo, 1968.
Despite no engines, they were pumping JP-4 (a type of kerosene for jet aircraft), apparently to test the fuel tanks? NASA photo, 1968.
NASA photo, 1968.
NASA photo, 1968.
Underwing nacelle. The first research flight with the three engines was on 03JUN1968.
NASA photo, 1968.
NASA photo, 1968.
General Electric J-85 engine. The J85 was originally designed for a air-to-surface missile carried by the B-52, but it went on to power the T-38, F-5, A-37 and CT-114.
NASA photo, 1968.
Nacelle build-up. Apparently the left (port, #2) engine was a special version of the J85, and the right (starboard, #3) engine was the standard production J85. The idea was to use the experimental things on the ‘special’ J85 and then compare the performance to the ‘normal’ J85.
NASA photo, 1968.
Interior of J85 nacelle. NASA photo, 1968.
Aft missile bay fuel tank. NASA photo, 1968.
A new fuel tank was made to fit the internal weapons bay.
NASA photo, 1971.
NASA photo, 1976.
Note three jet exhausts on the F-106B. The co-pilot in the rear seat operated the J85 engines.
NASA says this photo shows the rear seat throttle controls for the two J85 engines.
NASA photo, 1968.
NASA tried different sensors.
NASA photo, 1974.
The U.S. Air Force wanted to test different types of exhaust nozzles in an attempt to achieve supersonic cruising (without using the after burner).
NASA photo, 1969.
The U.S. commercial passenger airliner industry also wanted to test ideas for the Super Sonic Transport (SST). Boeing/General Electric/NASA’s first attempt at an SST was canceled in 1970 when the U.S. Senate refused to spend anymore tax dollars on it. Another attempt was made in the 1990s when NASA/Boeing began using a modified Russian SST, that program was also canceled due to lack of funding.
NASA photo, 1971.
NASA photo, 1971.
General Electric 32 spoke fan nozzle. NASA photo, 1971.
Silent video of multi-engined F-106B ‘616’ roll-out, take-off, flight and landing. This edit also includes lightning strike testing, NASA ‘816’ (formerly 616) was also ‘lightning hardened’ and intentionally flown into thunderstorms. That testing helped develop technologies that are taken for granted today:
Sound check. NASA photo, 1970.
It was also used to test jet engine mufflers (acoustic suppressors) for the U.S. airliner industry. This is because taxpayers had successfully got their lawmakers to limit the level of noise created by jet airliners. Unfortunately, all attempts to suppress the noise levels of jet engines had no affect on preventing sonic booms, and many global metro areas (the only markets for SSTs) made it a crime to break the sound barrier, just one of many reasons why SSTs like Concorde and Tu-114 were killed off.
This is how NASA does a ‘mic check’. NASA photo, 1971.
‘Acoustic Plug & Shroud’ testing. NASA photo, 1971.
Half span wind tunnel model. NASA photo, 1971.
NASA photo, 1971.
Wind tunnel model with squared ‘wedge’ F-15 style intakes.
Installing a F-15 style intake on a J85 nacelle. NASA photo, 1975.
NASA photo, 1971.
Blown main-gear tire at Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan, 1971.
NASA photo, 1971.
About to take a final flight. NASA photo, 1977.
Supposedly this is a photo from the final flight of the three engined F-106B. It would return to having just one engine.
‘616’ to ‘816’. NASA photo, February 1990.
In 1979, NASA 616 was sent to Langley Research Center where it became 816. As the last piloted Convair F-106 anywhere, NASA 816 saw service at Langley researching storm hazards, experimenting with an ‘Off-Surface’ flow visualization system, and testing a vortex flap.
F-106B NASA 616(816) was retired in May 1991:“NASA 816 made its last flight on April 30. It was the last known piloted Convair F-106 still flying.”
Supposedly, 616/816 was not turned over for target drone duty as were the vast majority of F-106s, but retired to the Virginia Air & Space Center in Hampton, Virginia.
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