Posted on 09/17/2019 10:03:25 AM PDT by Yo-Yo
The United States Air Force has just disclosed its official name and designation for its new jet trainerthe T-7A "Red Hawk."
The announcement came at the Air Force Association's symposium that opened today outside of Washington, D.C. Acting Air Force Secretary Matt Donovan disclosed the jet's official moniker while standing with one of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, Colonel Charles McGeea highly decorated veteran with a whopping 409 combat missions spread across WWII, Korea, and Vietnamby his side.
McGee and his Red Hawk squadronmates not only bombed and strafed the Nazis with amazing acumen, they also did the same to racial biases and the artificial limitations placed on African Americans' service. The unit was known for their bright red tail flashes on their P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs, a tradition that still continues with the unit that bears the name "Red Tails" to this very day.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedrive.com ...
Looks a little like the progeny of an F-18 and a BD-10.
I thought that was the Redtails of WW2?
Someone forget the protection LMBO!
With red-tailed Red Hawks, a la Doc Brown, “Where we’re going, we don’t NEED Stealth”.
They were indeed the RedTAILS, not hawks.
From their history page:
“The Allies called these airmen “Redtails” or “Redtail Angels,” because of the distinctive crimson paint applied on the vertical stabilizers of the unit’s aircraft.[7]”
Here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/332d_Expeditionary_Operations_Group
Looks ok. Nothing will ever eclipse the T-38 in my mind. One of the neatest aircraft Ive ever flown.
Big change from the venerable T-38...
There are two curious little speed brakes that deploy below the cockpit for slow, high AOA flight.
Do these prevent uncontrollable pitch-up?
It looks like the color scheme is more of a tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen than the actual name.
And all with those little engines. 5,000lb+ thrust if memory serves.
Cool!
Thirty Five years after NGT first flown and then abruptly cancelled, Boeing comes up with the aviation equivalent of bloatware to train stoont pilots!
Probably nice enough a/c to fly - looks roomy, unlike T-38 - it’s (of course) way too expensive and serious overkill for secondary jet trainer.
Coulda just re-engined the Talon and upgraded the avionics, but hey...no big $$$ for LeAnn and her gangstas in St Louis for that.
The article I posted was only an excerpt. Here is a section of the article that I didn't excerpt that explains the name "Red Hawk."
The name Red Hawk honors the legacy of Tuskegee Airmen and pays homage to their signature red-tailed aircraft from World War II... The name is also a tribute to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, an American fighter aircraft that first flew in 1938 and was flown by the 99th Fighter Squadron, the U.S. Army Air Forces first African American fighter squadron.So "Red" for the Tuskegee Red Tails, and "Hawk" for the P-40 Warhawk.
Those two "curious little speed brakes" are communications antenna.
Thanks. They looked like aerodynamic appendages that deployed and retracted.
Agree. It looks fast even on the ramp. You wear it, don't get into it and frankly, I liked the old steam gauges before they went to a glass display.
Can’t see what speed brakes you are talking about. I see two antenna below the cockpit under the new jet. Airborne pics show no speed-brakes that I can see. The T-38 had speed brakes under the fuselage. See no such things below the new jets fuselage.
Anecdote: After landing from a T-38 solo flight, I cleared the runway and stopped short of the center runway to complete my post-landing checklist when I noticed the T-38 that landed after me was kicking up dust and “swaying” and as it topped the slight rise in the runway, I saw the jet had landed gear-up. The student deployed his speed brakes and that action ground the speed-brakes into nothing. Pretty cool to watch.
Yup, looks like some F-18 in that gene pool.
I can’t tell where the front gear comes down. Antennae like those are a pain in the ass if you’re stooped over, under the jet. On the F-4, there’s one that comes down and isn’t as swept-back as these. It’s a convenient place to hang your shirt. And if the front taxi light is on when you energize the plane, it’ll start a fire.
Red hawk is the given name, the real fleet name will be out soon, i.e. Warthog , Viper, Tweet, Mudhen or something like that.
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