Northrop T-38 Talon
T-38 Talon | |
---|---|
A T-38A from Edwards Air Force Base | |
Role | Advanced trainer |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Northrop Corporation |
First flight | 10 April 1959 |
Introduction | 17 March 1961 |
Status | Operational |
Primary users | United States Air Force United States Navy NASA Turkish Air Force |
Produced | 1961–1972 |
Number built | 1,189 |
Developed from | Northrop N-156
|
Variants | Northrop F-5 |
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the world's first supersonic trainer as well as the most produced.
The T-38 can be traced back to 1952 and Northrop's N-102 Fang and N-156 fighter aircraft projects. During the mid-1950s, Northrop officials decided to adapt the N-156 to suit a recently issued general operating requirement by the United States Air Force (USAF) for a supersonic trainer to replace the Lockheed T-33. The bid was successful, in no small part on its lower lifecycle cost comparisons to competing aircraft, and the company received an initial order to build three prototypes. The first of these, designated YT-38, made its maiden flight on 10 April 1959. The T-38 was introduced to USAF service on 17 March 1961.
The USAF is the largest operator of the T-38. Additional operators of the T-38 include
Development
In 1952, Northrop began work on a fighter project, the
Schmued and chief engineer Welko Gasich decided on a small, twin-engined "hot-rod" fighter, the N-156. Northrop launched its N-156 project in 1954, aiming for a small, supersonic fighter jet capable of operating from the US Navy's escort carriers.[5] When the Navy chose not to pursue equipping its fleets in such a fashion, favoring large fleet carriers instead, Northrop opted to continue work on the N-156 using in-house funding. It was instead recast as a lightweight fighter, referred to as the N-156F, that was primarily aimed at the export market.[5]
In the mid-1950s, the USAF issued a general operating requirement for a supersonic trainer, seeking to retire its 1940s-era Lockheed T-33s for an aircraft better suited to training pilots to fly its high speed fighter aircraft.[5] Northrop officials decided to adapt the N-156 to this competition. The only other candidate was the two-seat version of the North American F-100 Super Sabre. Although the F-100 was not considered the ideal candidate for a training aircraft (it is not capable of recovering from a spin),[6] NAA was still considered the favorite in the competition due to that company's favored-contractor status with the USAF, but Northrop officials presented lifecycle cost comparisons that proved to be highly persuasive amongst USAF officials.[7] Accordingly, Northrop was awarded an initial contract in June 1956 to produce three prototypes, designated YT-38.[7]
On 10 April 1959, the first YT-38 performed its maiden flight at the hands of test pilot Lew Nelson.[7][8]
The type was quickly adopted. The first production examples were delivered in 1961, entering service on 17 March 1961, complementing the Cessna T-37 Tweet primary jet trainer. When production ended in 1972, 1,187 T-38s had been built, plus two N-156T prototypes. Since its introduction, an estimated 50,000 military pilots have trained on this aircraft. The USAF remains one of the few armed flying forces using dedicated supersonic final trainers, as most, such as the US Navy, use high-subsonic trainers.[9]
During 1962, the T-38 set absolute time-to-climb records for 3,000, 6,000, 9,000, and 12,000 meters, beating the records for those altitudes set by the F-104 in December 1958. The F-4 Phantom beat the T-38's records less than a month later.
The majority of T-38s built were of the T-38A variant. The USAF had a small number of aircraft converted for weapons training, designated AT-38B, which were fitted with a gunsight and could carry a gun pod, rockets, or bombs on a centerline pylon. By the end of September 2017, 503 T-38s were still operational with the USAF,[10] while many more remained in operation around the world.
Most of the USAF's aircraft, T-38A and AT-38B, have been converted to the T-38C through an avionics upgrade program. Improvements include the addition of a
The fighter version of the N-156 was selected for the US
Design
The Northrop T-38 Talon is of a conventional configuration, with a small, low-mounted, long-chord wing, a single vertical stabilizer, and
Its handling was relatively conventional and viceless. While it was originally considered to be too easy to fly compared with frontline fighters of the 1960s, by the twenty-first century, it had become regarded as the most challenging aircraft in the USAF's inventory.[15] The aircraft's nimble performance earned it the nickname "white rocket". It had been considered by trainee pilots to be a somewhat unforgiving aircraft from an aerodynamic standpoint.[16]
The T-38 can be visually distinguished from both the F-5B and F-5F, which are also derived from the N-156, by the wings. The wing of the T-38 meets the fuselage straight and ends square, while the F-5 has
Throughout the development process, a strict weight control regime was exercised by the design team.
Various design decisions were taken and features were incorporated to simplify the T-38 and make it as easy to maintain as possible.[7] To avoid removing the vertical fin while changing an engine, the fin was attached directly to the keel structure between the engines, and instead detaching the horizontal stabilizer along with the entire aft shell of the fuselage that surrounds the engines, which could be removed relatively easily via undoing several fasteners that hold the fuselage shell together and disconnecting two push rods that connect the pilot's control stick to the horizontal stabilizer's hydraulic actuators.[7]
To avoid having to break and reconnect multiple hydraulic lines during an engine swap, designers mounted the hydraulic pump and other accessory drives on the fuselage which joined to the engine by a short
Operational history
Military
The USAF
The
After graduating from basic flying on the Cessna T-37 Tweet, pilots were trained on more advanced aspects, including supersonic flight, blind flying, formation flight, handling stalls, single-engine flight procedures, low speed flight, and landing techniques.[16] Prior to the USAF ceasing the practice of trainees flying within icy conditions, the T-38's engines were prone to being damaged by ingesting ice. The relatively small engine intakes are also known to be problematic when flown at low speeds under 'hot and high' conditions.[19]
The landing gear's brakes have been criticised for being relatively weak, one of several factors that necessitates care while landing. Several incidents, including fatalities, have occurred due to imprecise management of the throttles and air speed during landing attempts.[19] Despite these factors, the T-38 has been regarded as a relatively safe trainer aircraft even into the twenty-first century. Between 1961 and 2005, the fleet has cumulatively flown 25 million hours, during which 150 of the 1,187 T-38s built between 1961 and 1972 were recorded as lost, resulting in 45 deaths.[11]
Besides the USAF and the USN, other military operators of the T-38 have included the German Air Force, the Portuguese Air Force, the Republic of China Air Force, and the Turkish Air Force.[9]
During late 2010, the USAF launched the T-X program to procure a replacement for its T-38s.[20] Bidders included a joint venture of BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, offering the Hawk trainer, equipped with Rolls' Adour Mk951 engine with FADEC. Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries, offered the T-50. Raytheon and Alenia Aermacchi offered the T-100, an aircraft whose design originated with the M-346.[21]
NASA
During the Space Shuttle era, an established NASA tradition was for astronauts to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center in T-38 Talons.[25]
Civil
Seven privately owned T-38s are in the U.S.[23] Boeing owns two T-38s, which are used as chase planes.[23] Thornton Corporation owns two T-38s, and the National Test Pilot School owns one T-38.[23] Two others are in private ownership.[23]
Variants
- N-156T: Northrop company designation.
- YT-38: Prototypes, two built with YJ85-GE-1 engines, later designated YT-38A and four pre-production aircraft with YJ-85-GE-5 engines, later designated T-38A.[26]
- T-38A: Two-seat advanced training aircraft, production model, 1,139 built.[26]
- T-38A(N): Two-seat astronaut training version for NASA. See T-38N below.
- AT-38A: A small number of T-38As were converted into weapons training aircraft.
- DT-38A: A number of US Navy T-38As were converted into drone directors.
- GT-38A: Permanently grounded aircraft, often due to flight or ground mishap, converted into ground procedural trainers or aircraft maintenance trainers.
- NT-38A: A small number of T-38As were converted into research and test aircraft.
- QT-38A: Unmanned target drone aircraft.
- AT-38B: Two-seat weapons training aircraft.
- T-38C: A T-38A with structural and avionics upgrades.[9]
- T-38M: Modernized Turkish Air Force T-38As with full glass cockpit and avionics, upgraded by Turkish Aerospace Industries under the project codename "ARI" (Turkish: Arı, for Bee).[27]
- T-38N: Former USAF T-38As bailed to NASA and T-38As directly assigned to NASA that received an Avionics Upgrade Program (AUP), modernizing communications and navigation systems, replacing outdated avionics, and adding a weather radar, flight management system, altitude alert systems, and modern controls and displays.[28]
- ST-38 or N-205: A proposal to be fitted with 3 rocket engines in the 10,000lb thrust range burning hydrogen peroxide and JP-5, capable of Mach 3.2 and a maximum altitude of 200,000 feet (61,000 m) and only requiring modification to 25% of the airframe. It was to be used for training astronauts as part of the ARPS (Aerospace Research Flight School). It was first proposed in May 1958 and then again in 1963, however the Air Force showed no interest and instead selected the
- T-38 VTOL Proposed vertical takeoff variant with four lift nozzles behind the pilot.[31]
Operators
Current
- German Air Force – 46 T-38A in 1968, now upgraded to T-38C. All aircraft are stationed at Sheppard AFB, Texas and are painted in US markings.[32]
- Turkish Air Force – 33 T-38M in service.[33]
- United States Air Force – 497 T-38 trainers in service as of December 2022[update].[34]
- United States Navy – 9 aircraft in use as of December 2022[update].[34]
- NASA – approximately 32 aircraft transferred from USAF[citation needed]
Former
- Air Base No. 11. They were retired in 1993 replaced by Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet[36]
- Republic of Korea Air Force – 30 T-38A from the US in April 1999. All units were returned to the US by 2009 after near completion of production of T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer.[37]
- Republic of China Air Force – former operator, all aircraft returned to the US in 1998.[38]
Accidents and incidents
More than 210 aircraft losses and ejections have been documented over the lifetime of the T-38.[39] The USAF has recorded 149 fatalities since operations began in 1960.[40]
- February 1962 – The first crash of a T-38 occurred, near Webb AFB, Texas. One pilot was killed.[citation needed]
- 31 October 1964 – Astronaut Theodore Freeman was killed as a result of a bird strike on a NASA operated T-38.[41][42]
- 28 February 1966 (1966 NASA T-38 crash) – Astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett were killed when they struck a building in fog.[43][44]
- 5 October 1967 – Astronaut Clifton "C.C." Williams was killed in a crash of a NASA operated T-38 due to an aileron jam.[45][46]
- 18 January 1982 – U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds crashed while practicing for an airshow. After this crash, the T-38 was replaced in this role by the front line F-16A Fighting Falcon.
- 21 May 2009 – One pilot was killed and the other ejected with serious injuries after a rudder malfunction caused the crash of a USAF T38A.[47]
- 19 July 2013 – The plane went down south of Sheppard Air Force Base at approximately 6:48 a.m., near Pecanway Drive and Horton Lane in Wichita County and the pilots ejected safely with minor injuries.
- 21 November 2019 – Two pilots killed during a collision while landing.[48]
- 19 February 2021 – The two-person USAF crew of a T-38 was killed in a landing crash near Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama. The aircraft was assigned to the USAF 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus AFB, Mississippi. The crash was later attributed to pilot error.[49]
- 19 November 2021 – Two aircraft collided on approach to Laughlin Air Force base, resulting in the death of one student.[50]
- 7 November 2022 – A T-38C crashed near Columbus AFB, Mississippi, with one pilot safely ejecting.[51]
Aircraft on display
- YT-38A
- 58-1192 – Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota[52]
- T-38A
- 58-1196 – Los Angeles, California[53]
- 59-1600 – Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport[54]
- 59-1601 – On base display, Maxwell AFB, Alabama[55]
- 59-1602 – On base display, United States Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Painted as "Thunderbird 1"
- 59-1604 – NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.[56]
- 59-1605 – On base display, Lackland AFB, Texas[57]
- 60-0549 – Prairie Aviation Museum, in Bloomington, Illinois[58]
- 60-0551 – To be displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC[59]
- 60-0558 – American Legion Post 233 in Edinburgh, Indiana[60]
- 60-0570 – Edward F. Beale Museum, Beale AFB, California[61]
- 60-0573 – On display, Owatonna Degner Regional Airport, Owatonna, Minnesota (with 60-0589 and 61–0828)
- 60-0574 – On base display, Laughlin AFB, Texas[62]
- 60-0589 – On display, Owatonna Degner Regional Airport, Owatonna, Minnesota (with 60-0573 and 61–0828)
- 61-0817 – Oklahoma Welcome Station, adjacent to
- 61-0825 – On display, U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL (as N999NA, not original paint scheme). Appeared on Shipping Wars TV Show being transported to Huntsville, AL from NASA Houston.
- 61-0828 – On display, Owatonna Degner Regional Airport, Owatonna, Minnesota (with 60-0573 and 60–0589)
- 61-0829 – Gallup Municipal Airport, Gallup, New Mexico
- 61-0838 – On base display, in front of Randolph Inn Visiting Officers Quarters (VOQ), Randolph AFB, Texas[64]
- 61-0854 – Holloman AFB, NM, circa 1982.[65]
- 61-0858 – Sheppard AFB Air Park, Sheppard AFB, Texas[66]
- 61-0902 – Science Spectrum in Lubbock, Texas.[67]
- 61-0926 – Salina Oklahoma, lawn of American Legion post #240 [68]
- 62-3673 – 434th Fighter Training Squadron when it was located at Holloman Air Force Basebetween 1977 and 1991
- 63-8125 – Sheppard AFB Air Park, Sheppard AFB, Texas[66]
- 63-8224 – Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon; painted in NASA colors, suspended from the ceiling in the Air and Space Exhibit Hall.[69]
- 64-13198 – Hangar 25 Museum, (former Webb AFB) in Big Spring, Texas[70]
- 65-10405 – On base display,
- 65-10426 – On base display, Vance AFB, Oklahoma[73]
- 66-8381 / NASA 901 (N901NA) – Assigned directly to NASA as the second NASA T-38 to be designated as 'NASA 901' and 'N901NA'; on display at Aviation Heritage Park, Bowling Green, Kentucky[74][75]
- GT-38A
- 60-0592 – Dyess Linear Air Park, Dyess AFB, Texas[76]
- 60-0593 – March AFB) in Riverside, California, on display in Thunderbirds markings.[77]
- 61-0824 –
- AT-38B
- 60-0576 – On base display, Holloman AFB, New Mexico.[79]
- 65-10441 – Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. This aircraft was retired in 1991, came to the museum in 1999, and was placed on display in 2004.[80]
- T-38N
- 65-10329 / NASA 969 (N969NA) – On display at John F. Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida[81]
- 65-10355 / NASA 913 (N913NA) – On display at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, New York, New York[82]
- 65-10402 / NASA 968 (N968NA) – On display at Space Center Houston[83]
- 66-8381 / NASA 901 (N901NA) – Assigned directly to NASA as the second NASA T-38 to be designated as NASA 901 and N901NA; on display at Aviation Heritage Park, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Specifications (T-38A)
Data from USAF factsheet[9]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 46 ft 4.5 in (14.135 m)
- Wingspan: 25 ft 3 in (7.70 m)
- Height: 12 ft 10.5 in (3.924 m)
- Wing area: 170 sq ft (16 m2)
- Empty weight: 7,200 lb (3,266 kg)
- Gross weight: 11,820 lb (5,361 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 12,093 lb (5,485 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × General Electric J85-5Aafterburning turbojet engines, 2,050 lbf (9.1 kN) thrust each dry, 2,900 lbf (13 kN) with afterburner
- J85-5A upgraded with PMP modification to J85-5R: 2,200 lbf (9.8 kN)dry / 3,300 lbf (15 kN) afterburner[84]
Performance
- Maximum speed: 746 kn (858 mph, 1,382 km/h)
- Maximum speed: Mach 1.3
- Range: 991 nmi (1,140 mi, 1,835 km)
- Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m)
- Rate of climb: 33,600 ft/min (171 m/s) [85]
- Wing loading: 69.53 lb/sq ft (339.5 kg/m2)
- Thrust/weight: 0.65
See also
- Boeing T-7 Red Hawk
Related development
Related lists
References
Citations
- ^ "ENJJPT, 40 years of training NATO's future military pilots". blogbeforeflight.net. 27 April 2022.
- ^ United States, Air Force (27 September 2018). "Air Force awards next-generation fighter and bomber trainer". af.mil. Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ Johnsen 2006, pp. 5–6.
- ^ Eden 2004, p. 344.
- ^ a b c d e f Garrison August/September 2005, p. 60.
- ^ Due to its elongated fuselage – the pilot's operating handbook for the two-seat version contains an instruction to avoid spins.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Garrison August/September 2005, p. 61.
- ^ "Northrop marks the 50th anniversary of T-38 Talon first flight". defencetalk.com. 14 April 2009. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "T-38 TALON Fact Sheet". U.S. Air Force. 2 May 2008. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013.
- ^ "USAF Almanac 2018" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- ^ a b c Garrison August/September 2005, p. 64.
- ^ "New Fighter Jet Unveiled By Iranian Military". Forces Network. British Forces Broadcasting Service. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ "Iran unveils new domestically-produced fighter jet". BBC News. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ^ "Eyeing U.S., Iran unveils new fighter jet". Reuters. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ Garrison August/September 2005, p. 62.
- ^ a b Garrison August/September 2005, p. 59.
- ^ TO 1T-38A-4, USAF T-38 Tech Order.
- ^ Butler, Amy (6 April 2015). "T-X Competition Fierce Despite GD, Alenia Split". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
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- ^ "USAF Braces For Fiscal Bombardment". AW & ST. 20 September 2010.
- ^ Power play, The World column, AW & ST, 16 September 2013, p. 12.
- ^ Reim, Garrett (27 September 2018). "Boeing wins $9.2b T-X trainer contract with USAF". FlightGlobal.com. Los Angeles: Flight International. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Aircraft – Make / Model Results: Northrop T-38". Federal Aviation Administration. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ Creech, Gray. "T-38 Supersonic Trainer Jet Gets New Home". NASA. Archived from the original on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ "Discovery's final crew arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center". 20 February 2011. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ a b Andrade 1979, p. 167.
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- ^ "Northrop Space Trainer". The Aeroplane, 3 April 1959, p. 393.
- ^ Landis, Tony (24 November 2021). "Flashback: Lockheed NF-104A Aerospace Trainer". United States Air Force Material Command.
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- ^ Cohen, Rachel (10 October 2021). "Pilots' errors upon descent led to fatal T-38 crash in February, Air Force says". Air Force Times. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
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- ^ "Northrop T-38A Talon – USA – Air Force". airliners.net. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014.
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- ^ Even though this value has been printed in USAF outlets for many years, it is probably incorrect. The T-38 time-to-climb record, set in 1962, was three minutes to 30,000 feet. According to Northrop's Roy Martin (quoted on p. 64 of Air & Space/Smithsonian, Vol. 20, No. 3 (August/September 2005)), a normal climb at military power – that is, maximum power without afterburner – is around 6,000 feet/minute.
Bibliography
- Andrade, John (1979). U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Midland Counties Publications. ISBN 0-904597-22-9.
- Eden, Paul, ed. (2004). Northrop F-5 family Encyclopedia of Modern Military Aircraft. London, UK: Amber Books. ISBN 1-904687-84-9.
- Garrison, Peter (August–September 2005). White Rocket. Vol. 20. Air & Space/Smithsonian Magazine. pp. 58–65.
- Johnsen, Frederick A. (2006). Northrop F-5/F-20/T-38. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press. ISBN 1-58007-094-9.
- Shaw, Robbie (1990). F-5: Warplane for the World. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International. OCLC 22344704.