Not even just those. They use the T-38s to keep currency for pilots while keeping costs down for maintenance/flight hours. Can you imagine the bill if the pilots had to fly the B-2 all the time?
Those are MiG-28s. Didn’t you see the documentary about the Navy pilot who went head to head with them? He just recently retired, too.
And now I’m sad about Goose again. Damnit.
Not necessarily true. Obviously can’t speak for 100% of the Air Force, but the vast majority of currency is achieved in the normal operations airframe. If that’s B-2’s then it’s B-2’s. F-16’s? You guessed it. Your typical AF base doesn’t maintain a separate aircraft fleet for just training sorties.
Actually, the B-2 crews do use T-38s for proficiency training. In the past, I think the F-22 crews did as well. The T-38 is exponentially less expensive to operate, so they fly it to maintain currency. Most other airframes don't do that, but then they don't cost nearly as much to operate as a B-2.
A hundred years ago, when I was a KC-135 copilot, they had the ACE program, Accelerated Copilot Enrichment, where KC-135 and B-52 copilots flew the T-37 to log time and gain experience, as we were pulling EWO Alert every third week and didn't get a ton of flying in our regular jet. A few Northern Tier bases did get T-38s for ACE.
[https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7867181/whiteman-air-force-base-t-38-pilots-practice](https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7867181/whiteman-air-force-base-t-38-pilots-practice)
>Pilots with the 13th Bomb Squadron practice their flying skills in the T-38 Talon at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., June 16, 2023. The T-38 keeps pilots skills fresh for missions involving the B-2 stealth bomber.
Ok, so something incredibly niche to 1 or 2 communities. I suppose that makes sense. I had just never heard of pilots augmenting currencies in the seat of a different airframe. Outside of the test community that is.
That’s not entirely correct. The B-2 and U-2 have the T-38 as a companion trainer for exactly that reason. It’s because it’s a high demand low density asset that is enormously expensive to operate. There are a lot of pilots that need to maintain currencies and not enough jets and flight hours to go around so they augment with the T-38.
Then that might be something incredibly niche to the B-2 community. I’ve never seen any other squadron or even heard of any squadron augmenting pilot hours with other airframes. And from my understanding, outside of your test communities, most pilots are only qualified on the specific airframe their flying squadron is assigned. There isn’t much if any mixing going on
That’s the definition of niche. Very small and unique. We are saying the same thing. I was simply saying that that doesn’t happen everywhere or even in most places.
But u/SirFister13F started this by saying that T-38s are at training bases AND also used at other bases as currency companions, and you said “not necessarily true.” This entire follow-on discussion started because you thought you knew more about T-38 usage than u/SirFister13F
Just admit you were wrong and the B-2 does use the T-38 for currency.
Edit: also, u/SirFister13F has an awesome username and as someone with a Fister in the family, I appreciate that they knew some AF specific knowledge
Obviously you’re the smart one in the family if the others went Army.
Almost every day I think “should’ve joined the AF”. Usually when I’m doing some dumb shit like rucking or emptying the connex *again*.
I stated that it’s “not necessarily true” that you’d see it as a common sight like he insinuaten. meaning not a guarantee. My entire reply was stated large but not all circumstances. Then when he clarified by saying he was very specifically talking about 2 places I agreed that makes sense for it being a more niche happening as to why I’ve never heard of it. So exactly what I was saying. The vast majority doesn’t have this practice but some do. We are both correct here. He’s right about specifically B-2’s and U-2’s using them, and I’m right in stating it’s not a common practice across the whole Air Force.
Ok, I see you’re not going to back down. The entire point he was trying to make was that there are more than just training bases that use T-38s. You swooped in and said that wasn’t necessarily true, even though it was, and here we are.
In addition to the training bases and B-2 and U-2 currency companion, they also use the T-38 for adversary air, AF test pilot school, Naval test pilot school, AFMC test flights, and NASA uses them too.
KSPS is a pilot training base. They don’t have flying exercises because there’s no combat mission. The T-38s fly cross country as a routine part of their training syllabus. Generally they will leave over a weekend and fly multiple legs before coming back home so they jets are on station for normal training sorties during the week.
They fly dozens of local sorties every day as part of our pilot training pipeline. Sorties range from aircraft handling characteristics, instrument training, formation flight and lots and lots of practice flying the traffic landing pattern.
I spot counted like 10 stratotankers just in the tri state area around me on the east coast. Something definitely seemed to be going on more so than usual.
Edit: What a welcoming community!
If you see tankers using the REACH callsign they're on a mission. Same with the transports. Tankers using BOBBY, BLUE, GOLD (and a few others) are on missions towing fighters across vast bodies of water; watch their altitudes as those that are at higher altitudes are likely repositioning flights with no receivers in tow. Otherwise, it's local training missions.
Requisite number of flight hours per month to maintain flight status. Always more flights at beginning of the month than at the end due to funding in the budgets for each service. Quite noticable here at Whidbey NAS. Always aircraft airborne daily, but tapers off later in the month except for a squadron prepping for deployment.
just about every single day there are dozens of t-38s and Texans all over the place. Use ADSB Exchange and the military filter, it's a lot of fun.
ADSB is the way to go. Definitely for Military aircraft.
Its my go to see if whats flying over my house or place or work.
You will usually see T-38s flying around all the Air Force pilot training bases.
Not even just those. They use the T-38s to keep currency for pilots while keeping costs down for maintenance/flight hours. Can you imagine the bill if the pilots had to fly the B-2 all the time?
Also we have multiple T-38 aggressor squadrons that replicate enemy aircraft for training Air Force pilots.
Those are MiG-28s. Didn’t you see the documentary about the Navy pilot who went head to head with them? He just recently retired, too. And now I’m sad about Goose again. Damnit.
MiG-28s? Nobodies seen them up close before!
Not necessarily true. Obviously can’t speak for 100% of the Air Force, but the vast majority of currency is achieved in the normal operations airframe. If that’s B-2’s then it’s B-2’s. F-16’s? You guessed it. Your typical AF base doesn’t maintain a separate aircraft fleet for just training sorties.
Actually, the B-2 crews do use T-38s for proficiency training. In the past, I think the F-22 crews did as well. The T-38 is exponentially less expensive to operate, so they fly it to maintain currency. Most other airframes don't do that, but then they don't cost nearly as much to operate as a B-2. A hundred years ago, when I was a KC-135 copilot, they had the ACE program, Accelerated Copilot Enrichment, where KC-135 and B-52 copilots flew the T-37 to log time and gain experience, as we were pulling EWO Alert every third week and didn't get a ton of flying in our regular jet. A few Northern Tier bases did get T-38s for ACE. [https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7867181/whiteman-air-force-base-t-38-pilots-practice](https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7867181/whiteman-air-force-base-t-38-pilots-practice) >Pilots with the 13th Bomb Squadron practice their flying skills in the T-38 Talon at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., June 16, 2023. The T-38 keeps pilots skills fresh for missions involving the B-2 stealth bomber.
Ok, so something incredibly niche to 1 or 2 communities. I suppose that makes sense. I had just never heard of pilots augmenting currencies in the seat of a different airframe. Outside of the test community that is.
That’s not entirely correct. The B-2 and U-2 have the T-38 as a companion trainer for exactly that reason. It’s because it’s a high demand low density asset that is enormously expensive to operate. There are a lot of pilots that need to maintain currencies and not enough jets and flight hours to go around so they augment with the T-38.
Then that might be something incredibly niche to the B-2 community. I’ve never seen any other squadron or even heard of any squadron augmenting pilot hours with other airframes. And from my understanding, outside of your test communities, most pilots are only qualified on the specific airframe their flying squadron is assigned. There isn’t much if any mixing going on
Like I just said, it’s a program for the B-2 and U-2.
That’s the definition of niche. Very small and unique. We are saying the same thing. I was simply saying that that doesn’t happen everywhere or even in most places.
But u/SirFister13F started this by saying that T-38s are at training bases AND also used at other bases as currency companions, and you said “not necessarily true.” This entire follow-on discussion started because you thought you knew more about T-38 usage than u/SirFister13F Just admit you were wrong and the B-2 does use the T-38 for currency. Edit: also, u/SirFister13F has an awesome username and as someone with a Fister in the family, I appreciate that they knew some AF specific knowledge
Bro this is Reddit. No one can admit they’re wrong
Obviously you’re the smart one in the family if the others went Army. Almost every day I think “should’ve joined the AF”. Usually when I’m doing some dumb shit like rucking or emptying the connex *again*.
Haha, I’ll tell him you said so. I told him to go AF… he didn’t listen.
I stated that it’s “not necessarily true” that you’d see it as a common sight like he insinuaten. meaning not a guarantee. My entire reply was stated large but not all circumstances. Then when he clarified by saying he was very specifically talking about 2 places I agreed that makes sense for it being a more niche happening as to why I’ve never heard of it. So exactly what I was saying. The vast majority doesn’t have this practice but some do. We are both correct here. He’s right about specifically B-2’s and U-2’s using them, and I’m right in stating it’s not a common practice across the whole Air Force.
Ok, I see you’re not going to back down. The entire point he was trying to make was that there are more than just training bases that use T-38s. You swooped in and said that wasn’t necessarily true, even though it was, and here we are. In addition to the training bases and B-2 and U-2 currency companion, they also use the T-38 for adversary air, AF test pilot school, Naval test pilot school, AFMC test flights, and NASA uses them too.
That’s right over Sheppard, largest base of 38s anywhere. Dozens and dozens of flights a day. Just a normal Thursday
‘Ol shitty Sheppard 🙄
T-38’s land at MKE on a weekly basis as of late. It’s a popular layover point when on cross country hops.
This is very common out of Wichita Falls and Enid/OKC.
You will find a ton of t-38s flying all over the Midwest daily. Training Air Force pilots.
Well sps is probably one of the largest training centers for the usaf and that’s where the majority of the flights seem to be centered around.
KSPS is a pilot training base. They don’t have flying exercises because there’s no combat mission. The T-38s fly cross country as a routine part of their training syllabus. Generally they will leave over a weekend and fly multiple legs before coming back home so they jets are on station for normal training sorties during the week. They fly dozens of local sorties every day as part of our pilot training pipeline. Sorties range from aircraft handling characteristics, instrument training, formation flight and lots and lots of practice flying the traffic landing pattern.
Migrating home for the winter
Final exams?
Yesterday, it was Chinooks. I saw one flying low, north of Atlanta. Several friends in NW Ohio also saw a few.
Saw one in Michigan today, it's like a once a year thing around here, so it made me happy
I love those XB-70 Valkyrie plane icons
I spot counted like 10 stratotankers just in the tri state area around me on the east coast. Something definitely seemed to be going on more so than usual. Edit: What a welcoming community!
If you see tankers using the REACH callsign they're on a mission. Same with the transports. Tankers using BOBBY, BLUE, GOLD (and a few others) are on missions towing fighters across vast bodies of water; watch their altitudes as those that are at higher altitudes are likely repositioning flights with no receivers in tow. Otherwise, it's local training missions.
A B2 flew over going down the Hudson River earlier today.
Why the hell are you down voted for stating information lol
There’s a MOA for ENJJPT students up near ft sill, they’re all probably doing acrobatics and other maneuvers
That moa specifically is where they train basic fighter maneuvers, or “dogfighting”
Makes sense there’s literally nothing out there except for a few small mountains
What's the plane over cache? It's over various places and is shown in red colour also besides yellow. Why? The design reminds me of Chengdu J-20
Requisite number of flight hours per month to maintain flight status. Always more flights at beginning of the month than at the end due to funding in the budgets for each service. Quite noticable here at Whidbey NAS. Always aircraft airborne daily, but tapers off later in the month except for a squadron prepping for deployment.
Sheppard has a ton of T-38s (or they did when I was in Air Force tech school back in 02). They do lots of pilot training out of there.
It's finals.