Convair F-102 Delta Dagger

The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger is a american interceptor aircraft created to intercept the soviet bomber fleets, replacing the Northrop F-89 Scorpion, it was replaced in 1976 by the Convair F-106 Delta Dart.

Description
The primary mission of the F-102 was to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft. It was the world's first supersonic all-weather jet interceptor and the USAF's first operational delta-wing aircraft. The delta wing control surfaces eliminated the need for horizontal control surfaces (stabilizer and elevators). Built by Convair (General Dynamics); the F-102 was the first all-weather supersonic jet interceptor. First to use the 'area rule' design concept which pushed the speed beyond the sonic barrier, the F-102 was to be superseded by the more advanced F-106, which could exceed 1,000 mph.

The concept known as the area rule is one of the great success stories of airplane design. The area rule says that the transonic wave drag of an aircraft is essentially the same as the wave drag of an equivalent body of revolution having the same cross-sectional area distribution as the aircraft. This fact, coupled with the knowledge of the shape that minimizes drag shows designers how to reshape the fuselage and other components of an airplane to reduce the drag of the total configuration. When an aircraft is sonic area ruled, the fuselage is shaped to an optimal area distribution. The result is the well-known "Coke bottle" shaped fuselage.

The first aircraft to which the area-rule principle was applied was the Convair F-102 delta-wing fighter. The YF-102 was basically an enlarged XF-92A delta. NACA, the Air Force, and the manufacturer already knew from wind tunnel tests that the YF-102's configuration rendered it incapable of meeting the interceptor performance specification, which called for supersonic speed. With its relatively low-thrust engine, the prototype of this supposed supersonic fighter was unable to pass through Mach 1.0. Convair redesigned the airplane on the basis of the area-rule principle developed by NACA Langley's Richard Whitcomb to give it supersonic performance. The modified aircraft easily passed through Mach 1.0 and entered the supersonic speed regime.

The F-102 made its initial flight on October 24, 1953, and became operational with the Air Defense Command (ADC) in 1956. At the peak of deployment in the late 1950s, F-102s equipped more than 25 ADC squadrons. Convair built 1,101 F-102s, 975 of which were F-102As. The USAF also bought 111 TF-102s as combat trainers with side-by-side seating.

In a combat situation, after electronic equipment on the F-102 had located an enemy aircraft, the F-102's radar would guide it into position for attack. At the proper moment, the electronic fire control system would automatically fire the F-102's air-to-air rockets and missiles. This supersonic jet was one of the mainstays of the Air Defense Command in the 1960s. By 1974, surviving F-102s, called "Deuces", they had all been assigned to the U.S Air National Guard and to the air forces of Greece and Turkey.

Variants

 * YF-102
 * Prototypes. Non area-ruled fuselage. Powered by 14,500 lbf (64.5 kN) J57-P-11, two built.


 * YF-102A
 * Area-ruled prototypes. 16,000 lbf (71.2 kN) J57-P-23. Four converted from pre-production aircraft.


 * F-102A
 * Production Model. Initial eight pre-production aircraft built with non-area ruled fuselage. Remainder (879) with area ruled fuselage.


 * TF-102A
 * Two-seat training version, 111 built.


 * F-102B
 * The original designation of the F-106.


 * F-102C
 * Proposed tactical attack version with J57-P-47 engine. Two converted As as YF-102C engineering test beds.


 * QF-102A
 * Target drones converted from the F-102A. Six built.


 * PQM-102A
 * Unpiloted target drones. 65 converted.


 * PQM-102B
 * Revised target drone conversion, capable of being flown remotely or by pilot in cockpit. 146 converted.

Operators
Greece Turkey United States
 * thumb|A preserved F-102 Delta Dagger of the Hellenic Air Force]]
 * Turkish Air Force
 * United States Air Force

General Characteristics

 * Crew: 1
 * Length: 68 ft 4 in (20.83 m)
 * Wingspan: 38 ft 1 in (11.61 m)
 * Height: 21 ft 2 in (6.45 m)
 * Wing area: 661.5ft²/61.52m² (Original Wing) or 695 ft²/64.57m² (Conically-Cambered Wing)
 * Airfoil: NACA 0004-65 mod root and tip
 * Empty weight: 19,350 lb (8,777 kg)
 * Loaded weight: 24,500 lb (11,100 kg)
 * Max takeoff weight: 31,500 lb (14,300 kg)
 * Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney J57-P-25 afterburning turbojet
 * Dry thrust: 11,700 lbf (52.0 kN)
 * Thrust with afterburner: 17,200 lbf (76.5 kN)
 * Internal fuel capacity: 1,085 US gal (4,107 l)
 * External fuel capacity: 2 × 215 US gal (815 l) drop tanks

Performance

 * Maximum speed: Mach 1.25 (825 mph, 1,304 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,190 m)
 * Range: 1,350 mi (1,170 nmo, 2,175 km)
 * Service ceiling: 53,400 ft (16,300 m)
 * Rate of climb: 13,000 ft/min (66 m/s)
 * Wing loading: 35 lb/ft² (172 kg/m²)
 * Thrust/weight: 0.70

Armament
Avionics
 * Rockets: 24 × 2.75 in (70 mm) FFAR (Folding Fin Aerial Rocket) unguided rockets in missile bay doors
 * Missiles:
 * 6 × AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missiles or
 * 3 × AIM-4 Falcon
 * 1 × AIM-26 Falcon with conventional or nuclear warhead
 * MG-10 fire control system