Awsome story. To many young people don't chase their dreams and it's a shame. God bless you and yours. From Oakland Ca. ✌...

In 1975, my first squadron was the 49th FIS out of Griffiss AFB, NY. We had T-33's and F106's. I was a Sheet Metal Mechanic, one of the first woman in that squadron. I went to William Tell, an air compation at Tyndall AFB, FL. It was awesome! The guys trained me how to martial an air craft there. End Of Runway is so exciting! I remember going into a trailer by the runway, and we could listen to the pilots talking to each other. The guy in the trailer kept apologizing to me because of the language, but I didn't care. It was so exciting!!

@@MetalMama-zb4wg And Griffiss is no longer, closed in second round of BRAC . . . mid - 1990's !

@@paulsuprono7225 Yes I know, I was stationed at McClellan AFB, CA, and that is closed now also. Base closures seem to follow me! LOL!

318th had the best tail flash!. Closed down the 318th Dec 7 1989. After the transfers of the F-15's to Portland I left in March of 1990

I remember being a kid and watching the 52s fly over the sierras when camping, that were out of castle AFB.

I was at Paine Field WA from 1966 to '68 with 57th CAMRON. We repaired the 498th and then 84th FIS birds. I was a weapons control system mechanic

solola11 ......I too was stationed at Duluth in 1966. I was with Security Police however, and had the thrill of walking around these beautiful birds protecting them from Russian saboteurs . There was nothing more awesome for a twenty year old than to be there when the doors on alert hangars flew up and two 106s with a thirty foot flame would head down the runway and into the night sky. I'd like to get in touch but I don't know how. Good luck

Was at Griffis AFB 69-70 Crew chief on the only B model (2 seater) Also had run up license and flew on one mission. Frank Car

Damn 2 guys who worked at the same place Meeting up on the KZfaq comments, what a small world!

Was not pleasant for the people in the barracks a couple of blocks away when the engines were tested!

Your lucky that has got to be an amazing memories

So that's what, that's called (Immelmann)!! Thank you, sir👍!!!

I was a CAP Cadet 79-82 and it was an awesome experience. My favorite was the Cessna OV2 Skymaster, our CAP Squadron had two at the time and several times a year we had a chance to fly as a Cadet Observer. Joined the Navy in 83 and served 83-95 as an Aviation Ordnanceman.

@a10warthog61 You are a dick head. My dad flew outa AC for 20 years, F-100's, F105's and F-106's. so I can call you a dick head. They did special tours etc and not on "airshow days" troll. I flew the same simulator and let me tell you troll, that wasn't open to air show crowds. You are a low life troll. Now back to your momma's basement with you.

79-86 Ted, did you ever get the 108th tour when they still had F-105's?? I spent a lot of time around them, then the phantoms.

My dad flew the F-100 and the F-105's while they had them. I was fortunate enough to go to Warren Grove and be up in the tower at the range watching him and his buddies rolling in and strafing with the Vulcan 20MM a few times. The Thud is still my all time favorite plane. Raw power!

My dad flew F-100's, F-105's and F-106's at Pomona until he retired in the late 1980's.

Speaking of the century series jets, it was a sad day (sort of) when the last F-100 came thru McClellan AFB in 1979. The ANG was flying the bird since 1971. Another sad statistic is that during its operational life 889 aircraft were lost along with 324 pilots. Flying military aircraft is not for the faint of heart.

106's you saw were probably from Langley

That's what I figured. I was temporarily at Roosevelt Roads NAS in Puerto Rico in 1969 or 70? and the Puerto Rico ANG was the last US unit to fly the F-104 Starfighter. I saw a 104 do the low pass/vertical climb trick there once too. Most impressive. But not quite as big and loud as a 106.

@@barryervin8536 The 104 was really nothing more than a tin can with a J-79 and some nubby little wings. The leading edge of the wings was actually very sharp. I believe the published climb rate was something like 50,000 feet per minute. It basically had limited range from its small internal fuel tank behind the cockpit and had to have external tanks to get any range at all. My civilian crew worked on a few of them passing thru McClellan AFB in the 60's and 70's. Good thing they got a better ejection seat in them after a while. Having to eject downward on a takeoff emergency is a total bummer.

Yeah, they didn't call it "the missile with a man in it" for nothing. It was a brilliant piece of engineering but more like an experimental plane that went into mass production than a really functional military aircraft. The F-106 in contrast was designed to excel as a high speed all weather interceptor and has never really been bettered in that role. It's ironic that the 104 did see combat and the 106 never did. And there are a few 104s still flying and not a single 106, which I find sad.

Wow! What a career. (Same time as a boy, my father was there and we spent a lot of time on the flight line crawling around them...it was great Then he would take me into the building where the training for GCI was going on- and then we'd check out the drones....)

My first job in the AF, working MA-1 on the 6 at Minot, AFB (5th FIS, Spittin Kittens)...great first job!! I was there when they converted to F-15's, and got photos of the last ones still hanging on when I cross trained to F-16's (Hill AFB). Still, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful planes to fly over head, especially in a 4 ship. Interesting point, my last duty station at Luke I worked for a Major who was involved with the drone project converting the F-106's being used for target practice out of Florida...full circle I guess.

What about the PINK BUILDING MAAAANNNN? Haha. Always hear about the pink building from people that were at WP

@@thefriar8883 Spent 15 years working in the pink building.

@@HokieO67 Haha, thats awesome! Almost wonder if you know some of the people I know. Thanks for your service. Aerospace engineering is what continues to move the world forward in my opinion.

The Voodoo was the F-101. The F-105 was the Thunderchief.

OK, Correction, F101s, F102s F104s and F106s.

I m British and an E E Lightning lover.But I have to say the gorgeous F106 left the Lightning alone and in the shade when it came to looks.

Matthew Black Absolutely, for sure, you bet, no doubt about it, without question..... positively. Wright Flyer, USAF (1968-1972).

Funny how the French made a plane as nice looking as the Mirage III.

My dad was in the 48th FIS then went to the 318th FIS at McChord AFB in Washington State. Loved going out to the base when my dad had weekend duty and we could go in the hanger and sit in the cockpit, loved that plane!!!!

Jim Gent I was there 76-80. Was on the F-15’s in the 27th. Great memories. Chances are we passed one another sometimes.

Was with the 48th from Oct '76 - Jul '80. Great memories....great people....great aircraft!

@@TomHenry57 wow this is such a brilliant thread of all you guys memories….much respect to all you guys. I’m envious of your careers and the time you were working. Today working life is not the same

Did you ever pull alert duty at Kingsley? Was there 70-75, 460th,84th and det 1 318th. Great duty and great plane!

The F-106 was a beautiful aircraft in air!

I mas a MA-1 chief and worked on all three of these birds when it was the 27th FIS. 69-72.

My father turned wrenches on the 106's at Loring AFB around then as well. Maybe you knew him.

I didn't know Loring had these jets I thought they only had the B-52

@@billj7460 What was the F-15 tail letters were they the Cape Cod jets

@@billj7460 Ive read before the Cape Cod F-15s had a small group based somewhere else sometimes

I was born at Luke when my dad was training in F-100's and living in NJ when he retired from the NJ ANG 28 years later flying the F-106.

Also saw them growing up in Fresno, home of California Air National Guard. They flew the six from May 1974 to January 84 Miss the formation takeoffs and landings too Not done anymore

I watched them fly every morning over the apartments at Stockton State College. Great Fighter/Interceptor!

My dad flew outa Pomona from 1966 until mids 1980's when he retired.

smart451cab I agree. Bring out an F-105 instead of a P-51. Or a Starfighter instead of a B-25

Too expensive for private operators to use for exhibition. Furthermore, except as scrap only, the DoD does not sell surplus aircraft to the public anymore for liability reasons. They will only sell them as scrap, which means they are stripped and crushed or shredded prior to sale to recyclers.

Rogers Hunter Freekin bummer... That’s history they are compressing. They just don’t want John Q Public getting an outdated jet Air Force

@@davidkelley5382 Exactly the same in the UK. If our rulers can crush it or scrap it then that's what they'll do. Take a look into what our rulers did to the TSR2 project when they pulled the plug on that back in the late 60's early 70's. Its been going on for years. They couldn't wait to get it scrapped. There are a few very interesting docus on KZfaq about it. One has to ask why. Look at the two English Electric Lightnings that were bought privately and the RAF flew into Bruntingthorpe (where they reside to this day in taxiing condition. Many good clips of them on KZfaq) the new private owners had to beg the RAF not to deliberately drill holes in the fuel tanks to make them totally inoperable. Thankfully they didn't hence the taxi days that still go on but over all its the same here as in the US by the look of it.

@Star Trek Theory The engines are American made. Germany can't make jet engines while Korea makes scramjets and RD-190 rocket engines.

I crew 086 at our local Air Museum in Santa,Rosa,Calif.

Grew up a little north of Griffiss AFB......., in the mid to late 70s, used to go down and watch the B52s and 106s go in and out. Can remember when one of the 106s crashed somewhat north of the base in I'd guess 72 or 73.

@@modtodd82 I was stationed at Griffiss when that accident occurred. We flew C-131s with infrared cameras, so we did a search for the pilot, flying a grid pattern in the area of the crash. We were unsuccessful but the pilot was located later. I remember the missing man flyover at the base some time after that sad day. It was March of 1974.

Griffiss AFB was in Rome NY

@@jrftworth Yep, my mistake.

1523 mph set in 1959. The twin engine F-4 topped that in 1961 with 1606 mph and the single engine Soviet E-152 hit 1666 mph the next year but that was an experimental aircraft, not a fighter. I am old enough to remember all of those and several others before that. I also remember the F-106's modified for airspace security duties at Edwards AFB and probably elsewhere. Mods included a Malcom Hood canopy to improve rearward visibility (not an impossible bubble canopy as often stated) a Vulcan gun pod under the nose and a steerable hi power searchlight on the nose. These and all other AF F-106's were retired by the end of 1987, a year before the ANG examples. Sometime in the 1970s all 106's and 105's had their J-75 engines detuned to improve engine life. High supersonic flight was deemed unnecessary with late models of the F-4 in service and the F-15 and F-16 on the horizon

F-105 ?

I was stationed at Griffiss 72-74, as a B52 engine tech. for the 416 BW. 49 FIS engine shop was right next to ours. Beautiful fighters and fast as all get out!

I was there from '73-'75 working on the radar weapons system.

'77 - '79 in the Comm Squadron. Loved to watch the 106s. :)

I was there the same time as you, my first base, 83-85 until they brought in the F-15's, so I cross trained to F-16's (closer to the ground, never needed two step). I was a MA-1 tech....good memories (not a great location for a young 19 year old), but great squadron..never belonged to one any better since.

MajDogMeat why not Minot, freezins the reason.

I was there from '79-83. Ended up as Crew Chief on 59-0159B. loved that ACFT. Also had engine run and taxi license as a 23 yr old!

I'm thinking early 90s, look at the age of the cars in the background in the opening scenes.

@@migueldelacruz4799 I saw these at Birmingham AL in the 1980's with F-102's, Stayed late to see them depart. They were beautiful powering up and rolling out. Quiet a fire show and have them all on photos still. Great day and open house there!

The paint scheme on the the Atlantic City F-106 drop tanks was a large horizontal red line from nose to end centered on the tank. That line was flanked by thinner red horizontal lines above and below the center line. They were painted like that since shortly after arrival in 1973. I believe 90043 had "THE ULTIMATE INTERCEPTOR" painted in blue over the red lines on both drop tanks as part of it's retirement paint scheme. I worked in the MA-1 and Comm/Nav Shops for several years (and yes, was a Weapons Load Augmentee) at the 177FIG and later on was the full time photographer for the unit.

Saw them many times over the Antelope Valley flying chase. White with safety orange tails.

+Tom Maddux I sa an F 15 built in 79 at the Reno Air Races last year ! Old but well maintained.

NJANG was the last unit flying the Darts, IIRC these weren't just the last from NJ they were THE LAST operational 106's that went to AMARC

Tom, I lived in the Soo then as well. My Dad was the station manager for North Central Airlines, and of course at the time Kinchloe was also the airport...

They weren’t worn out. They were obsolete. A model F-16s were available to ANG wings as the USAF went to F-16Cs and they were much better equipped to deal with a greater variety of modern threats... as well as do expeditionary work. The AIM-4 Falcon was a terrible missile from experience in Vietnam and the F-106 had no other weapons other than the Nuclear Genie rocket which was not a good idea to use, ever. The J-75 was also a very loud and inefficient engine which put it at odds with neighbors of ANG bases which were often attached to civilian airports.

Tom Maddux

Adding smoke inhibitor didn't do anything to exhaust levels. I remember the first 707s flying out of San Francisco, the smoke from each engine were like F4s and they were much noisier too. In time the smoke was minimized and so was the noise level. We lived basically under the main take-off runway, planes would either exit straight ahead over South San Francisco or veer to the west so I'm assuming they were going to LA or Hawaii much of the time. The noise levels of the big jets were so loud flying over our house you couldn't carry on a conversation without yelling if you were outside. We just shut up for about 15 seconds and stared off into space and then continued where we left off or would say, "what was I talking about?" It was so common that we never gave it a second thought. Inside, the house would shake and rumble like you were in a minor earthquake aftershock, something that was pretty common to the area.

Stupid because smoke itself is far less of a problem than the unseen pollutants in exhaust. Its just fine soot basically, a tiny bit of particulate pollution.

When I was a kid and we'd go to the Jersey shore I remember seeing blimps flying up and down the beach all the time. I'm old LOL!

@@barryervin8536 - Joint Base MDL still has blimps stationed from time to time. They go between there and Pax River. Got to fly in one myself a few years back. They invited some members of the press to take a ride and do a story since they were getting tons of questions from the local residents and Jersey Shore tourists who saw them flying (well, more like floating) over the bay and the beaches every day. I believe they said they were utilizing them for sensor testing. Our pilot was actually from the private sector and previously flew the GoodYear blimp. One of the coolest experiences ever! When they're around, you can usually see them in Ocean County. I'm juuuuust a bit too far north of Warren Grove to see the F-16s today. Occasionally they'll fly past the lighthouse and toward Seaside Heights but they usually stay south by the range. The sound is insane. I was once in my boat with the engine at full throttle and thought something was going very wrong in the back despite it being brand new. I put her in neutral and the roar was still coming, but it was from above. Always kinda wondered if the ANG guys ever use our boats for targeting and tracking practice lol.

The Thunderbirds actually flew an Airshow in 73 using the F 4 at Fresno Air Terminal. It was AWESOME!

Early summer evenings, I'd hear the kaboom of the afterburners kick in all the way to Selma.

Wayne, our squadron control hanger (MATS transports) was located behind the 6 or 8 McGuire 106 alert stalls in the mid '60s and when one or two lit up we would be hit with their warm exhaust 60 yards away. That time, they were full active AF, escorting Russian bombers down the coast a while for S.Carolina to pick up the flight. . Wonderful sight. Then we closed shop and went to Nam.

ikr the century series were some beautiful aircraft. That era of aircraft in the cold war until they brought in the F-15s, which i admit are great aircraft, is the best. My favorites are this one and the F-100.

Thanks for your comment!