White Knight |
Patuxent River USNTPS 50th Anniversary 1995
The Northrop T-38 Talon is an American supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first, and most produced supersonic trainer. It remains in service as of 2008 in air forces throughout the world including the United States Air Force (USAF), which remains its largest user.
The T-38 was designed in the mid 1950s as the trainer variant of a lightweight fighter project (the N-156 project) by the Northrop Corporation (today part of Northrop Grumman). Although the United States Air Force had no need for a small fighter at the time, it became interested in the trainer as a replacement for the T-33 Shooting Star it was then using in this role. The first of three prototypes (designated YT-38) flew on 10 March 1959. The type was quickly adopted and the first production examples were delivered in 1961, officially entering service on 17 March that year, complementing the T-37 primary jet trainer. When production ended in 1972, 1,187 T-38s had been built. Since its introduction, it is estimated that some 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.
The T-38 is of conventional configuration, with a small, low, long-chord wing, a single vertical stabilizer, and tricycle undercarriage. The aircraft seats a student pilot and instructor in tandem, and has intakes for its two turbojet engines at the wing roots. Its nimble performance has earned it the nickname white rocket—in 1962, T-38s set four climb records.
The F-5B and F can be distinguished from the T-38 by the wings; the wing of the T-38 meets the fuselage straight and ends square, while the F-5 possesses leading edge extensions near the wing roots and wingtip launch rails for air to air missiles. Under the paint, the T-38 wing is constructed of honeycomb material whereas the wing of the F-5 family is constructed of conventional skin over underlying support structure. General characteristics: Crew: 2: student and instructor, Length: 46 ft 4.5 in (14.14 m), Wingspan: 25 ft 3 in (7.7 m), Height: 12 ft 10.5 in (3.92 m), Wing area: 170 ft² (16 m²), Empty weight: 7,200 lb (3,270 kg), Loaded weight: 11,820 lb (5,360 kg), Max takeoff weight: 12,500 lb (5,670 kg), Powerplant: 2× General Electric J85-5A (J85-5R after PMP modification) afterburning turbojets, Dry thrust: 2,050 lb (9.1 kN) each, Thrust with afterburner: 3,850 lbs (17.1 kN) each. Performance: Maximum speed: Mach 1.3 (858 mph, 1,381 km/h), Range: 1,140 mi (1,835 km), Service ceiling 50,000 ft (15,240 m), Rate of climb: 33,600 ft/min (170.7 m/s), Wing loading: 70 lb/ft² (340 kg/m²), Thrust/weight: 0.65 USN 09 René Hieronymus Scale 1:72 Building time: 14 hrs
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