Talk:T-38 Talon

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Citing fuel and maintenance costs, the Thunderbirds aerobatic display team of the U.S. Air Force used the T-38 Talon from 1974 until 1983 when it was replaced by the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

The underlined phrase is vague.

Were fuel and maintenance costs the reason they continued using the t-38 from 74 to 83 (e.g. it was the least expensive option at the time) or was that the reason they abandoned it for teh F-16 (because it was too expensive)?

Actually, fuel and maintenance costs were the reason they were flown from 74 until 83 (post Vietnam war, oil crisis). The T-38 is a very inexpensive aircraft to fly and that is why it will still be operating as a advanced flight trainer until 2020.

[edit] History

The statement "...it is estimated that some 50,000 military pilots have trained on this aircraft" seems to be an understatement. From the early '60s until the early '90s, every USAF pilot training student flew the T-38. Since the '90s, about 30% of the USAF pilot trainees have flown the T-38. During the Cold War the USAF had at least 20,000 pilots at any given time, and today it must be around 15,000. The total number of pilots who trained on the T-38 must be at least 150,000. Does anyone have a better number than 50,000? Hildenja 17:55, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Check the given source for this one. Realize that there are likely only 100-400 students that complete training at each base each year. While the cadre of Air Force pilots does primarily come from UPT, there are other sources of training. Some are pilots that have transferred from the Army/Navy. Others flew with the Navy in joint training. Others may be reservists who got experience from flying with the airlines. Still others got training prior to the introduction of the T-38. That said, 50,000 to 70,000 seems pretty close (there was a significant drawdown in pilot training after Vietnam...a kneejerk reaction by nearsighted politicians...) — BQZip01 — ^talk 21:22, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject class rating

This article was automatically assessed because at least one article was rated and this bot brought all the other ratings up to at least that level. BetacommandBot 10:25, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Picture error

The picture labled as a restored t-38 is infact an f-5. I believe it is the B model, but you can tell it is not a t-38 because of the wingtip rails used to mount fuel tanks or missiles. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.27.56.209 (talk) 02:41, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

According to the FAA data for N675TC it is a F-5B msn 8064 (former Jordanian 233, Iranian 3-7007 and USAF 68-9086). MilborneOne (talk) 09:00, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

??? Appears to be a T-38. Note the dual canopies. F-5s don't have those. While there is certainly only one pilot on board, it cartainly can fly with only one person. Furthermore, some T-38s have those connection points or perhaps they were taken from an F-5, but the fuselage looks nothing like an F-5. — BQZip01 — ^talk 21:56, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Can you back that up with a website? — BQZip01 — ^talk 21:56, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

OK I presume you will tell the FAA that they are wrong [1], another image of the same aircraft [2] all the images on Google of F-5Bs have two canopies!! MilborneOne (talk) 22:14, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Didnt understand the comment about pilots as both the T-38 and F-5B are two-seaters and both can fly with only one pilot. MilborneOne (talk) 22:19, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Ok, no need to be testy. My bad. I was completely unaware of the 2-seater F-5. Good to know. That said, please don't simply delete pictures. Perhaps they could be moved to a more appropriate article. — BQZip01 — ^talk 23:05, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

No problem - please note that deleting the image from an article does not delete the image it is on Commons and can be recalled or reused at any time. MilborneOne (talk) 11:15, 12 May 2008 (UTC)