F-106 AGE types (Read 615 times)

Remembering F-106 A.G.E. types.

It has been over 34 years ago that I was based at Hamilton AFB Ca but I still remember some of the ground power equipment the Delta Dart used.
I recall the large(yellow) electric power units that received the input power from a four inch diameter or so plug that mated to a receptacle in the ground.

I remember one instance in the winter when the power input cable was plugged and the unit was energized the power cable flew out of the ground with a bang. It was because the connector was full of water or moisture and the arc of energizing created steam and "bang".

Another time I was working night shift and a AGE tractor was towing the same type of power unit on a road parallel to the flight line when the access door for stowing the input cable popped open and before word was said the driver was gone, unrolling many many feet of heavy cable.

Of all of the aircraft types I have worked on only the F-106 seemed unique in either requiring MD-3's or a variation of the large gasoline or electric power units. I do not recall seeing any -60's at Hamilton AFB during my tour of duty 1969-70.

The high-pressure air compressors that were used to service the aircraft systems were another unique bit of equipment I never encountered again. I remember being on day shift in the summer when a hi-pack being used to pump up the system blew out the high pressure gauge on the unit's control panel and then the main air flasks/tanks in the bird started to vent because a check valve failed and for a few moments all one heard was a ROAR until the air bled down to zero.

I believe the MD-3's had to have an adapter cable to be able to mate to the F-106's large round female connector on the left side of the aircraft and wasn't it a real "*&#@@#; to get that connector to stay connected when the wind was blowing or rain was coming down?

I got real good at firing up the MD-3's and then pulling out the throttle cable and let it barely turn over until needed(especially in the alert barn area where noise from exhaust echo's all over). I never found out if it was detrimental to the units operation.

Since our weapons release shop was adjacent to the AGE yard we used to sneak over and fill our shop tractors with 115/145 avgas and man! did those vehicles fly. I remember our shop had four tractors that were used to bring loading equipment out to the flightline, two had standard transmissions and the other two had automatic tranny's with torque converters which were the preferred tractors.

My duties included the care of the shop step-van and the cleaning of the shop tractors along with being a member of a loading crew,aircraft weapons release maintenance person and air leak trouble shooter. Many a night shift turned into early morning shift trying to resolve the problems of the aircraft on the flightline. The crew I was working with would fix a problem and then control would call for either a WSEM or MSR to be moved from or to the shop for repair or reloading on a bird.

My shop had the loading crew I was on come into work at 3 a.m for a week to try to get ahead of the maintenance backlog. So imagine being up before anyone else except the security police and out on the lonely flightline with a NF-2 lite-all loading birds and clearing squawks in the 781 forms and repairing what night shift may or may not have done. We would fire up the hi-packs and charge the systems and retreat into the relative warmth of the step-van for a few minutes and then try to have silence while we either used the ultrasonic leak detector or sprayed bubble solution on leaking actuators or control valves.

More Hamilton AFB memories later....................