Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire T-38 Talon

Didn't know they were still in service. Was out fishing today when a formation of 4, line abreast, flew over. Beautiful sight.

I can tell you one thing, the T-38 and its single seat brother, the F-5 are REALLY tough to see in a dogfight. If they turn nose-on or tail-on they disappear...poof...then they show up somewhere behind you.

Nice airplanes but I hated when the Thunderbirds flew them. They "restored the roar" when they adopted the F-16.

I work near an airport and see them fairly often. We call them Mig 28's per their Top Gun appearance.

I lived and worked close to Ellington Field in Webster, Texas for a long time. NASA had some T-38's there that the astronauts from the Johnson Space Center flew all the time. Those planes were sleek and good lookin'. They didn't have any fat on em'.

Still in service and slated to be until 2028 or so. From an ASIP and aging aircraft perspective, a remarkable history going back to the 50s. Having been involved in DATDAs going back about 20 years, they are somewhat of a "franken" aircraft at this time in their life. I believe they're on their 5th wing replacement/mod and just this year started receiving their newest wing upgrade.

The group at Hill AFB have done a monumental job in bringing a pre damage tolerant designed aircraft into the modern approach that the AF uses to manage their fleet.

I flew it during pilot training in 1984......and they were old then. It was a nice jet and very easy to fly.

I flew it in 1970, and I was able to fly the T-38 simulator last year. I must admit that I couldn't find or decipher anything in the current all-digital cockpit. I'm a creature of steam gauges, it seems.

But the plane itself is a joy to fly. It is literally like riding a dart - you have to twist and strain to see even the tips of the wings behind you. One of the finest training aircraft ever conceived, IMHO.

T-38



F5



A couple of pics my son took.

High performance but lacks armor and payload

It's mission is not to fight, so it is not armored or stationed for carrying ordnance. The combat version, the F-5, has all that, and is superlative for its mission. The T-38 is absolutely perfect for its job, and I spent quite a bit of the first half of my career using it to train pilots and instructors. I love the airplane, but like Rocky, I do not recognize it with all the upgrades to it.

It's current role is IFF and SUPT.

Thomas,
my favorite grandson got to rock and roll in one of these at edwards a couple of weeks ago. Next up after that was a F16.