Northrop T-38 Talon: The World's Most Produced Trainer Aircraft

Video from the channel TRONSTIKE about Northrop, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 2:38. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

Short explainer piece about the Northrop T-38 Talon, a supersonic twin-engine jet trainer.

In the US Air Force it is used by three commands: Air Education and Training Command, to train pilots; Air Combat Command, for its supplementary training programme; and Air Force Materiel Command, to test experimental equipment. It prepares pilots for aircraft such as the F-15E, F-15C, F-16, B-1, A-10 and F-22.

The video distinguishes three versions. The T-38A is the basic supersonic trainer. The AT-38B, a fighter-lead-in variant, carries a gunsight and practice bomb dispenser. The T-38C has been modernised with a glass cockpit, integrated avionics and a head-up display. Structurally it is a low-wing monoplane with a semi-monocoque fuselage, mostly aluminium, with steel and titanium.