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In case you are also wondering what a T-38C is, it is a plane. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_T-38_Talon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_T-38_Tal

In case you are also wondering what a T-38C is, it is a plane. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_T-38_Talon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_T-38_Talon

ochoseis 11y ago
I didn't realize it was supersonic: Maximum speed: Mach 1.3 (858 mph, 1,381 km/h)
- hga 11y ago
  It's based on the late '50s-early '60s F-5: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_F-5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_F-5 and supersonic capability was a must by then. We bought a bunch of T-38s as, I gather, the default supersonic trainer aircraft, the Thunderbirds switched to them after the first oil shock (and the Blue Angels to A-4s, although an attack aircraft that's not carrying any ordinance is pretty hot...), and full circle, I recall reading the Pakistanis armed some for one of the wars with India, and they did pretty well as long as they were able to stay low.
- dingaling 11y ago
  The T-38 was an offshoot of the N-156F lightweight supersonic fighter ( F-5 to the USA and its allies ) and basically underwrote that project. They've been in service since 1961, which means they've lived through a lot of history. Here is Werner von Braun stepping-out of one of NASA's T-38Ns: https://www.flickr.com/photos/my_public_domain_photos/7000145352 https://www.flickr.com/photos/my_public_domain_photos/700014... For a while the Portuguese flew the T-38 as a trainer which was faster than their front-line combat aircraft, the A-7!
- kunai 11y ago
  Neither did I. Is it customary for trainers to be capable of supersonic flight? The T-6 we use in the Navy is a turboprop whose flight envelope is well under transonic speeds, let alone supersonic ones.
  - dingaling 11y ago
    It was a fad of the era which followed on from the excitement of all-jet training ( which itself declined in the 1970s ). The British RAF looked at the T-38 as inspiration but the subsequent Jaguar turned out as an attack aircraft. The Japanese then looked at the original supersonic training concept of the Jaguar and cloned it as the T-2, larger than the T-38 but likewise still in service. The few other forces who ended-up using T-38s did so as a result of FMS credits rather than actual need or validity, since the US had nothing to offer comparable to the subsonic Hawk and Alpha Jet.
astrodust 11y ago
For a second there I thought it was a comet, and the thought of those leaving shockwaves in space was very confusing.

In case you are also wondering what a T-38C is, it is a plane. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_T-38_Talon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_T-38_Talon

ochoseis 11y ago

I didn't realize it was supersonic: Maximum speed: Mach 1.3 (858 mph, 1,381 km/h)

hga 11y ago
It's based on the late '50s-early '60s F-5: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_F-5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_F-5 and supersonic capability was a must by then. We bought a bunch of T-38s as, I gather, the default supersonic trainer aircraft, the Thunderbirds switched to them after the first oil shock (and the Blue Angels to A-4s, although an attack aircraft that's not carrying any ordinance is pretty hot...), and full circle, I recall reading the Pakistanis armed some for one of the wars with India, and they did pretty well as long as they were able to stay low.
dingaling 11y ago
The T-38 was an offshoot of the N-156F lightweight supersonic fighter ( F-5 to the USA and its allies ) and basically underwrote that project. They've been in service since 1961, which means they've lived through a lot of history. Here is Werner von Braun stepping-out of one of NASA's T-38Ns: https://www.flickr.com/photos/my_public_domain_photos/7000145352 https://www.flickr.com/photos/my_public_domain_photos/700014... For a while the Portuguese flew the T-38 as a trainer which was faster than their front-line combat aircraft, the A-7!
kunai 11y ago
Neither did I. Is it customary for trainers to be capable of supersonic flight? The T-6 we use in the Navy is a turboprop whose flight envelope is well under transonic speeds, let alone supersonic ones.
- dingaling 11y ago
  It was a fad of the era which followed on from the excitement of all-jet training ( which itself declined in the 1970s ). The British RAF looked at the T-38 as inspiration but the subsequent Jaguar turned out as an attack aircraft. The Japanese then looked at the original supersonic training concept of the Jaguar and cloned it as the T-2, larger than the T-38 but likewise still in service. The few other forces who ended-up using T-38s did so as a result of FMS credits rather than actual need or validity, since the US had nothing to offer comparable to the subsonic Hawk and Alpha Jet.

astrodust 11y ago

For a second there I thought it was a comet, and the thought of those leaving shockwaves in space was very confusing.