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New trainer may refuel in air, fly 9-G turns

Whatever airplane the Air Force settles on to replace the aging T-38C Talon training jet will do a better job preparing students to fly the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.

The new jet will fly 9-G turns and be refueled in the air, capabilities the T-38C lacks.

The Air Force set the wheels in motion for a new trainer last month when it went to manufacturers looking for suggestions about aircraft, simulators and other gear. The call-out lists 2017 as a possible operational date for a plane.

Companies have until April 30 to offer up their ideas. Then, the Air Force will digest the information and come up with options as early as 2010, said Dave McDonald, a former T-38 instructor pilot who is overseeing the advance trainer replacement program for Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas.

The options could include replacing the Talon, switching to a simulator or using both to train student pilots moving into fighters and bombers.

It has been 50 years since the Talon took on the role as the standard advanced training jet. Earlier this decade, the service upgraded all of its approximately 500 T-38 trainers with digital and glass cockpit displays, similar to those in operational jets. The improved aircraft were designated T-38Cs.

Related reading: Talon celebrates its 50th anniversary

Despite the improvements, the T-38Cs are showing their age.

“It’s well past its original design specifications,” McDonald said.

Intended to fly 7,000 hours, the typical T-38C has logged 15,000 hours. By 2017, the flight hours will be up to 17,500, McDonald said.

The wear and tear is taking a toll. A cracked lever inside a wing brought down a Talon last spring, killing the instructor and student pilots. The service immediately grounded all T-38Cs to replace the levers.

In addition to safety concerns, AETC officials believe a new trainer is needed to help student pilots make the transition from flying trainers to F-22s and F-35s, McDonald said.

A replacement may need to have aerial refueling capability, which the T-38C doesn’t. With the exception of the A-10, new fighter pilots fly their initial refueling missions in two-seat versions of their operational fighter. Students in the F-22 and F-35 won’t have that opportunity because there are no two-seat versions of the jets.

The new aircraft could also have a cockpit display similar to the F-22 and F-35, McDonald said. Even with its new avionics, the T-38C can’t prepare students for the deluge of target, reconnaissance and flight information that the fighters generate.

Officials also want a trainer that lets students match the 9-G turns of the fighters. The maximum stress a T-38 pilot experiences is 7.3Gs, but turns of 5-Gs to 5.5-Gs are more common because of performance limitations, McDonald said.

An interim solution for moving pilots from the T-38C to the F-22s is letting them fly in the two-seat F-16D Fighting Falcon for a few weeks before they go off to the F-22 school at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

Three years ago, the Senate considered ordering the Air Force to compare T-38C costs with those of two other training jets in production at the time — the Boeing T-45 Goshawk flown by the Navy and the supersonic T-50 Golden Eagle, a joint project of Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries, destined for South Korea’s air force. Air Force officials objected to the proposed mandate, saying they were satisfied with the T-38C. The measure never became law.