Poetry, Part Thirty

The F-106 was the last of the "Century Series" of fighters from the 1950's: F-100 Super Sabre, F-101 VooDoo, F-102 Delta Dagger, F-104 Starfighter, F-105 Thunderchief, and F-106 Delta Dart. To me it was the most beautiful fighter jet ever designed and built.

The Darts were all-weather fighters. Sometimes, they would practice flying and landing at night at Minot AFB. They were the last line of defense against Soviet bombers. But their time was not going to last. I was later told by Tom Brundige that only the two-seater trainer version ever actually did touch and goes. (But, of course, that wasn't the full meaning of the term, for me anyway.)

Aerospace Defense Command, F-106 Touch & Go

A trio of linking triangles
tires to tap and cross again,
rolling a turn aloft,
as if a thing advancing
from some other world.
Another slight of air amazing
where wizards of night and weather
practice as our protection.

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