Tag Archives: t-38

Report of Too-Low Fly-by Released

The Air Force Times obtained the investigation report of the T-38 fly-by of the Iowa-Ohio State football game that was deemed too low to be legal.  The report is not flattering of the pilots, but does reveal there was at least one mitigating factor:

An Air Force pilot who led a dangerously low flyover before an Iowa football game told investigators he descended to avoid other air traffic and then lost track of his altitude because he was busy with other tasks, according to a report documenting missteps in the flight’s planning and execution…

Two small planes had taken off without clearance Read more

Air Force Pilots Punished After Flyby

A variety of sources report that six US Air Force pilots were punished over the 20 November 2010 flyby of the Iowa-Ohio State football game.  (Four flew the aircraft, two acted as ground coordinators.)  Soon after the event, it emerged the pilots may have been below required minimum altitudes.

The flight lead of the four-ship of T-38s, Maj Chris Kopacek, reportedly agreed to a deal including a reprimand and a voluntary removal from flight status to avoid a court martial.  He also signed a waiver of his privacy rights, allowing the Air Force to publicize its response to his actions.  From the Associated Press:  Read more

T-38 Passes 50 Years of Air Force Service

An Air Force article notes that the T-38 Talon, the Air Force’s primary jet trainer, has just passed 50 years of service.  To put that in perspective, the Air Force was only 14 years old, the Korean armistice wasn’t even a decade old, and most people probably didn’t know where Vietnam was yet.

The Air Force has indicated it will eventually begin an official search for a replacement trainer.

The T-38 isn’t the oldest aircraft in the inventory.  The B-52 is approaching 60 years of service.

Flyby Pilots “Barely above 100 feet”

The Air Force Times revisits the T-38 flyby of the Iowa-Ohio State game, citing architectural dimensions to try to analyze the videos and claim the jets were “flying at a fraction of the minimum altitude required.”  (See prior article.)

Despite the CSI-like efforts of the Air Force Times, the Air Force (which has no connection with the paper) will conduct its own investigation and act based on those conclusions.

For its part, the University of Iowa Read more

Air Force Looking to Replace T-38s

Update: European-based BAE has proposed its Hawk to replace the T-38.

The US Air Force has already replaced its primary training aircraft:  The T-37 has now been replaced by the T-6.  The T-38 is the second tier of basic pilot training, the aircraft in which all fighter pilots (and sometimes bomber pilots, depending on what year students attended) complete pilot training.  A report out at the Air Force Times indicates the Air Force is “looking to replace” the jet trainer.  Given the age of the planes and the horizon of the acquisition process, it might be a statement of the obvious.

The 50 year old T-38s have already been updated with advanced avionics and even completely new ejection systems.  Updates don’t make the aircraft any newer, however, and the aging fleet of T-38s will ultimately need to be replaced.

New Ejection Seat Improves T-38

The Air Force has announced that the 50 year old fleet of T-38 Talons, the AF’s primary jet trainer, is being upgraded with a new ejection seat.  The Martin Baker seat will reportedly be a vast improvement over the prior version, integrating the parachute with the seat (so it no longer has to be carried to the jet by the pilot) as well as giving the T-38 a zero-zero ejection capability.

The modification includes sequenced ejection; in the original version of the T-38, each cockpit ejected independently of the other.  Now, either cockpit can command ejection, both seats will go, and the rear seat will always go first.

This is not an insignificant change.  In 2009, a rear seat crew member ejected while the front seat pilot did not.  Since the seats were independent, the front seater remained in the aircraft to impact.

1 2