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Description
| Notes: LOW-WING, supersonic jet trainer (2 CREW) . | ||
| Manufacturer: | Northrop | |
| Base model: | T-38 | |
| Designation: | T-38 | |
| Version: | A | |
| Nickname: | Talon | |
| Designation System: | U.S. Air Force | |
| Designation Period: | 1948-Present | |
| Basic role: | Trainer | |
Specifications
| Length: | 46' 4" | 14.1 m | |
| Height: | 12' 10" | 3.9 m | |
| Wingspan: | 25' 3" | 7.7 m | |
| Wingarea: | 170.0 sq ft | 15.7 sq m | |
| Empty Weight: | 7,164 lb | 3,248 kg | |
| Gross Weight: | 11,759 lb | 5,333 kg | |
| Max Weight: | 12,093 lb | 5,484 kg | |
Propulsion
| No. of Engines: | 2 | ||
| Powerplant: | General Electric J85-GE-5A (A/B 3,850Lb | ||
| Thrust (each): | 2,680 lb | 1,215 kg | |
Performance
| Range: | 1,093 miles | 1,760 km | |
| Cruise Speed: | 578 mph | 930 km/h | 502 kt |
| Max Speed: | 812 mph | 1,307 km/h | 706 kt |
| Climb: | 30,000 ft/min | 9,143 m/min | |
| Ceiling: | 53,600 ft | 16,336 m | |
Operators (Past and Present)
| USAF | 9th RW | Beale AFB | CA |
| USAF | 12th FTW | Randolph AFB | TX |
| USAF | 14th FTW | Columbus AFB | MS |
| USAF | 47th FTW | Laughlin AFB | TX |
| USAF | 49th FW | Holloman AFB | NM |
| USAF | 64th FTW | Reese AFB | TX |
| USAF | 71st FTW | Vance AFB | OK |
| USAF | 80th FTW | Sheppard AFB | TX |
| USAF | 509th BW | Whiteman AFB | MO |
| USAF | Sacramento ALC | McClellan AFB | CA |
Known serial numbers
Examples of this type may be found at
| Museum | City | State |
| Air Force Flight Test Center Museum | Edwards AFB | California |
| Blackbird Airpark | Palmdale | California |
| Columbus AFB | Columbus AFB | Mississippi |
| Edward F. Beale Museum | Beale AFB | California |
| Kelly Field Heritage Museum | Kelly AFB | Texas |
| Laughlin AFB | Laughlin AFB | Texas |
| Maxwell AFB Air Park | Maxwell AFB | Alabama |
| Pima Air & Space Museum | Tucson | Arizona |
| Prairie Aviation Museum | Bloomington | Illinois |
| Randolph AFB | Randolph AFB | Texas |
| Reese AFB | Reese AFB | Texas |
| Sheppard AFB Air Park | Sheppard AFB | Texas |
| USAF Academy | USAF Academy | Colorado |
| USAF History and Traditions Museum | San Antonio | Texas |
| United States Air Force Museum | Wright-Patterson | Ohio |
| Vance AFB | Vance AFB | Oklahoma |
T-38A on display
Air Force Flight Test Center Museum | Blackbird Airpark | Columbus AFB | ||
Maxwell AFB Air Park | Pima Air & Space Museum | Prairie Aviation Museum | Reese AFB | |
Sheppard AFB Air Park | USAF Academy |
Recent comments by our visitors
| Michael Rathgeber Mesa, AZ | I had the pleasure of being an instrument specialist at Williams AFB from 1973 until 1978. The T-38 was a very easy aircraft to work on. We had about 118 T-38A's at the time. It is amazing to realize most of those aircraft are still flying as T-38C's. Please add Williams as one of the former T-38 bases. It trained about 25% of the Air Force pilots up to it's closure and deserves the recognition. 12/03/2009 @ 18:49 [ref: 25381] |
| Tim Carter Fort Worth, TX | I went through UPT at Reese AFB, Lubbock TX, Class 73-03. Then instructed in the T-38 from '73 to mid '76. Great airplane and several thousand hours later, it's still a favorite. AND I'd like to fly one again just once, so if anyone can help with this I'd be eternally grateful: When I turned 60 (Nov. 08), I set a goal to fly 60 different types of aircraft in the next year. I'm up to 34 so I'm a little behind but still intend to meet my goal. I would dearly love to make a T-38 number 60! If anyone can help find a civilian owned one, or has contacts in the Air Force who could make it happen, or a NASA contact or knows of any other way to make it happen I'd like to hear about it. If anyone is interested I have a website about my goal... my60thyear.com .....Thanks for any help. Tim 07/27/2009 @ 14:45 [ref: 24318] |
| Markus Hoppe Hannover, TX | Hello my name is Markus, curently i am at the german air force academy to become an officer in the german air force. Soon i will get my degree and i will start the training to become a cargo pilot. When i had all this pilot tests in the beginning my body has been massured , my problem is my back is 4 cm to long to become a jet pilot, accually i could fly the german tornado but the doctors told me i am to toll to fly the jet trainer t-38. My back ist from the hip to the shoulders exactly 104 cm long, can someone tell me, is it rearly impossible to fly the t-38 with that back or is this just written in some papers. It would be nice if a pilot from the t-38 could answer this question to me.
Tank you 06/07/2009 @ 06:19 [ref: 24223] |
| Donald J. Graber , TX | Can you please add Williams AFB, AZ (82nd FTW) as one of the former places T-38s operated? Thank you. 05/25/2009 @ 04:18 [ref: 24199] |
| Rick Elwood Petaluma, CA | I have recently been named crew chief for the T-38 #23659 at the Pacific Coast Air Museum in Santa Rosa. If anyone has any history info on this airframe I would be grateful.
05/21/2009 @ 15:04 [ref: 24193] |
| R DUCLOS Fountain Hills, AZ | INFORMATION on the photo of two T-38s on the flatbed truck, in Ehrenberg,AZ.
They were leased to South Korea for a few years & then shipped back to the United States. They are being trucked to Tucson, where they were put into storage at AMARG on 12 Jul 2008. 11/10/2008 @ 14:00 [ref: 23008] |
| Rodney Peters Pierre, SD | I worked the same ground as an earlier poster,
Williams AFB AZ Lima flight in 1973-1974 I was a crew chief on these fine birds. I came from T-37’s (Baker flight same base) and these were far easier to maintain. Of course to give you some reference the tweets I worked on had 2 to 3 times their expected lifetime hours on them and they were still ticking! I was at the Air museum 3 years ago in Tucson AZ and I took my wife and dad on a post flight walk around on a T- 38 they had there, and I was amazed at what I remembered and how enjoyable working with aircraft was. We also lost a few crews in these planes but I would say all I was aware of where pilot errors. As has been pointed out trainees make mistakes and sometimes gravity wins. But still the number of hours that were flown was just incredible, it was surprising we did not have more loses. Thanks guys for the site and posters for reminding me of one of the best times (and best jobs) in my life. 07/31/2008 @ 10:38 [ref: 22311] |
| Joe Vincent Cordova, TN | I have well over 2000 hours flying the T-38A and the AT-38B. I flew them at Columbus AFB from 1970-1975 and Holloman AFB from 1976 to 1978. There were accidents (some fatal) at those bases while I was there. But considering the number of hours flown the accident rate was very low. Compare that to the 7 MONTH PERIOD of my F-100 training at Luke AFB in 1969 when there were seven F-104 accidents with 3 fatalities! That's a "widow maker!"
The T-38 is like the best sports car you could ever imagine. My Ops Officer in Vietnam had been a test pilot who had flown all the Century Series fighters, several Navy fighters, and numerous other USAF planes. When asked his favorite, he immediately said the T-38. He said it was the "most responsive and forgiving supersonic plane he'd ever flown, and when you strapped it on, it became an extension of YOU." 05/31/2008 @ 23:35 [ref: 21066] |
| Rick Danzey Victorville, CA | I flew the T-38 at Columbus Jan 1973 to Sep 1976 and then at Holloman in June 1977 and Dec 1979 - Mar 1980. NEVER a Widow Maker whether in the basic training mode or in the advanced training mode. The memories come back so fast after reading the press release. My wife and I just shared about a similar incident at Columbus when we were there. S*** happens. When you fly, nothing is perfect. The only 100% PK is the ground. 04/24/2008 @ 20:35 [ref: 20712] |
| Warren Knight Somerset, MA | I was a crew chief in Lima Flight (yellow tales) at Williams AFB from 1982-1984. Alot has changed at "Willie"
but one thing has not; the T-38A is still flying. I remember one flight I launched where the base commander and a rooky went up and came back on one engine after a lightning strike, man were they lucky...man was I unlucky, I had to schedule all the work to fix it! Another infamous flight took place where Scooter (Scott Steiner) left a body panel in the cockpit along side the seat, and when the plane went inverted (base commander again) out popped the panel ending up over the commanders head. Wow! QC had a field day with that one, and the commander wasn't to happy either. Bird strikes were pretty prevalent. One such incedent happened and the thing went down the intake and nertzed the number one engine, they made it back on one engine, but the mess, and the stench was overwhelming. Still I had to scrape out the mess being I was the "Jeep" at the time. 82nd OMS Kick the Tires and Light the Fires 01/05/2008 @ 20:17 [ref: 19168] |
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