Quote:
Originally Posted by Llarry
A day late posting this but 65 years ago yesterday the Northrop T-38 Talon first took flight.
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In recognition of the stellar contributions of the T-38, here's some more information and a more recent photo.
-- 1,189 T-38As were produced from 1959 to 1972
-- T-38s were operated by a number of users, but presently there are about 500 in use by the USAF, 9 in use by the USN and 32 in use by NASA. Foreign users include Germany (operated in the US with USAF markings) and Turkey.
-- An important fighter aircraft, the Northrop F-5, was derived from the T-38 design and is in wide use: about 2,600 of those were built.
All in all, a major winner for Northrop.
And I did some elementary arithmetic on multiple generations flying the T-38; how about
:
-- Great grandpa got his wings in 1958 and was an experienced instructor when the T-38 first came along; he flew it in the 1960s.
-- His son (grandpa) got his wings in 1983 flying the T-38.
-- His son or daughter (mom or dad) got his/her wings in 2009 flying the T-38.
-- His or her daughter is now 14 years old and an excellent student who wants more than anything to be an Air Force pilot. Odds are she will fly the T-38 to get her wings.
That's four generations!