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F-106 IFE over Lake St Clair, Michigan by Bruce Gordon 29 Nov 2016 It was a late-night exercise from Selfridge AFB, near Detroit, Michigan. There was a cloud layer about 5,000 feet, so no moon - quite dark. I took off about 0500 (5 AM) and suddenly the Air Data Computer went haywire and my vertical tapes started running up and down wildly. I came out of afterburner and turned right over Lake St Clair, our usual traffic pattern, while I evaluated the situation. Lake St Clair was very dark, except for a few ships, but the lights of Detroit gave me a good sense of altitude. There were some quarter-size round gauges to tell me altitude and airspeed, but in the dim light I couldn't read them. I declared an In Flight Emergency (IFE) as I circled over Lake St Clair, keeping well out of the normal traffic pattern. I used a power setting to keep a reasonable airspeed, and the lights of Detroit to give altitude. The Tower cleared me to land. I said NO, that I had no idea of my altitude or airspeed, and wouldn't try to land until the sun came up! After 30 minutes or so, the Tower told me that, in accordance with standard procedures, when there was an EMERGENCY, the entire BATTLE STAFF was called to positions. The BATTLE STAFF could not go home until I landed. The COMMANDER ordered me to land immediately. That reminded me something that I learned in Pilot Training: Once you declare an EMERGENCY, you are in command. Those guys on the ground are sipping coffee and nibbling donuts, but it's YOUR ass that's strapped in the airplane and YOU TELL THEM WHAT YOU WILL DO. I told the Tower to tell the COMMANDER that I would continue to circle around over Lake St Clair until it was daylight, and would land when I could see my altitude and judge my airspeed better. I circled for another hour until it got light, then I came in and landed. I never heard another word from the Commander. Those lessons from pilot training kept coming back to my mind, and saved my butt several times! THE SPIRIT OF ATTACK!