TOW ROPE TAKEOFF QF-106A 59-0130 Dec 20, 1997. The Kelly Space & Technology (KST)/USAF Eclipse project’s modified QF-106 and a USAF C-141A takeoff for the project’s first tethered flight on December 20, 1997. The successful 18-minute-long flight reached an altitude of 10,000 feet. NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, hosted the project, providing engineering and facility support as well as the project pilot Mark 'Forger' Stucky.

From the cockpit by Mark "Forger" Stuckey:
"I was looking for trash bags and I opened the wrong drawer and found a bunch of old photos. Here's a view that was certainly unique -- my pilot's view out the front of an F-106 in a low tow position behind a C-141 being flown by a couple of [friends] attached with a 1000 ft rope. Although there was probably 7,000 lbs of tension on the rope, the aero drag put a big bend in it". Mark "Forger" Stuckey, Eclipse pilot