davparlr
Senior Master Sergeant
In March, 1961 the Air Force received the world's first supersonic trainer, designed to prepare Air Force pilots for the new century series aircraft, the F-100, F-101, F-104, F-105, and the F-106s. It was a small sleek plane with two toy-like engines, each 46 inches in length, 18 inches in diameter, weighing 396 lbs (all without AB). For comparison, the F-100's engine, the J-57, was 244 inches long, 39 inches in diameter and weighed 5175 lbs. But the little plane was fast, it would go Mach 1.2 without a shudder, one would only know he was flying faster than sound by looking at the Mach meter. And could it climb. It broke the world's time to climb record to 40,000 ft at 90 seconds, to be beaten by the F4H less than a month later. But still, it was only a trainer! As years passed, the fast, agile, predictable little plane became affectionally called The White Rocket.
I first climbed into the cockpit of the T-38 in the spring of 1970, over 48 years ago. It was not a high climb, which is fortunate since I have a bad case of acrophobia and get queasy above a couple of feet. After the pudgy, tough, and underpowered T-37 (would it really take off in the hot Oklahoma summer?) the T-38 seemed like climbing out of a Nova and getting into a Corvette. Things happened fast in the T-38, run the throttles up to Mil, check gages for correct engine performance, release brakes, throttles Max, check nozzle position indicator swing that indicates after burner light off, and away you go, rotate, slap the gear up because you are about the exceed the gear door speed limitations of 250 kts.
Some things I remember. Clouds passing vertically in a demonstrational burner climb - requiring 10,000 ft to perform a loop - crossing the shock wave of lead while flying supersonic formation, like crossing the bow wave of a ski boat - flying final a 180 mph - watching your airspeed while in extended trail formation, it was so easy to go supersonic which was forbidden - when low and slow on final, power, power, power, NEVER, NEVER, get behind the power curve on a plane that barely has wings. In my opinion T-38 was easy to fly and very responsive, but you could not be ham-handed. It would roll at 560 degrees/second. Confidence and ability was required. On my cross country we flew to Pensacola Naval Air Station, the home of naval aviation, which was about 2 miles from where I grew up. It was a real ego trip to taxi the sleek T-38 past the fat, goldfish looking T2Bs (North American T-2 Buckeye - Wikipedia) that the Navy was training in (if a Flight Surgeon had not failed to sign my flight physical, I would have been flying one of those T2Bs intead of the T-38). Only five fighters came down in our block of 52 pilots, and, although I finished in the top 25%, I ended up flying the C-141, a great plane in its own right (I was only slightly disappointed), but I will always be glad and proud that I got to fly one of the world's great aircraft, the T-38.
Some roles the T-38 has supported
Advance USAF pilot training
Air Base support aircraft
Astronaut training, including space shuttle landings
AF aggressor aircraft
Navy aggressor aircraft
NASA flight test support aircraft
Multipe foreign usuers
I was always concerned that they would someday replace the T-38 with a less capable and exciting aircraft but looks like they did the right thing and got a brand new, and exciting, on paper anyway, aircraft!
Boeing Wins $9.2B T-X Trainer Contract: Low Price, High Risk
I certainly hope they do not turn the T-38s into target drones. It would be cool if they put them up for sale!
I first climbed into the cockpit of the T-38 in the spring of 1970, over 48 years ago. It was not a high climb, which is fortunate since I have a bad case of acrophobia and get queasy above a couple of feet. After the pudgy, tough, and underpowered T-37 (would it really take off in the hot Oklahoma summer?) the T-38 seemed like climbing out of a Nova and getting into a Corvette. Things happened fast in the T-38, run the throttles up to Mil, check gages for correct engine performance, release brakes, throttles Max, check nozzle position indicator swing that indicates after burner light off, and away you go, rotate, slap the gear up because you are about the exceed the gear door speed limitations of 250 kts.
Some things I remember. Clouds passing vertically in a demonstrational burner climb - requiring 10,000 ft to perform a loop - crossing the shock wave of lead while flying supersonic formation, like crossing the bow wave of a ski boat - flying final a 180 mph - watching your airspeed while in extended trail formation, it was so easy to go supersonic which was forbidden - when low and slow on final, power, power, power, NEVER, NEVER, get behind the power curve on a plane that barely has wings. In my opinion T-38 was easy to fly and very responsive, but you could not be ham-handed. It would roll at 560 degrees/second. Confidence and ability was required. On my cross country we flew to Pensacola Naval Air Station, the home of naval aviation, which was about 2 miles from where I grew up. It was a real ego trip to taxi the sleek T-38 past the fat, goldfish looking T2Bs (North American T-2 Buckeye - Wikipedia) that the Navy was training in (if a Flight Surgeon had not failed to sign my flight physical, I would have been flying one of those T2Bs intead of the T-38). Only five fighters came down in our block of 52 pilots, and, although I finished in the top 25%, I ended up flying the C-141, a great plane in its own right (I was only slightly disappointed), but I will always be glad and proud that I got to fly one of the world's great aircraft, the T-38.
Some roles the T-38 has supported
Advance USAF pilot training
Air Base support aircraft
Astronaut training, including space shuttle landings
AF aggressor aircraft
Navy aggressor aircraft
NASA flight test support aircraft
Multipe foreign usuers
I was always concerned that they would someday replace the T-38 with a less capable and exciting aircraft but looks like they did the right thing and got a brand new, and exciting, on paper anyway, aircraft!
Boeing Wins $9.2B T-X Trainer Contract: Low Price, High Risk
I certainly hope they do not turn the T-38s into target drones. It would be cool if they put them up for sale!