Batstrike!

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum ^ | 12/14/2009 | Randy Gordon

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

It was my first T-38A night solo out of Laughlin Air Force Base in the remote west Texas desert. Since night flying as a pilot training student is already an emergency procedure by default, the instructors make the flight as basic as possible. The weather has to be almost crystal clear and the winds nearly at a dead calm. Students receive a tremendous amount of preparation training for the flight and are drilled on the game plan so thoroughly that I still remember it to this day: An instructor would take off with the solo students following him at regular intervals. Another instructor would play the role of "Tail End Charlie" making sure all the students in front of him didn't inadvertently fly into Mexico. We were to follow the instructor on a course that traced a wide arc along the edges of Laughlin's training airspace, report passing pre-arranged turn points over the radio, maintain a set speed so we didn't overrun each other in the darkness, return to the pattern for several approaches, and then make a full-stop landing. The night T-38 solo flight was more about building confidence than it was about developing stick and rudder skills.

.

[null and void]

Barking moonbat alert!

(Almost an Ash Alert)....

[rlmorel]

Good story.

The way he told his story reminds me a little bit of one of my favorite books: “The Shepherd” by Frederick Forsyth.

[centurion316]

I believe that this is very similar to the “banana in the tailpipe” syndrome.

[Dacula]

I grews up on Laughlin and he is right, there is nothing there at all. Kept me out of trouble.

[central_va]

I hit a bird in a Cessna 172. Made a big dent in the leading edge of the wing and scared the h out of me. Seemed to fly ok, the plane not the bird.

[LukeSW]

Hit a turkey buzzard flying a low level in an F-4 at 450 knots. Blew a huge hole in the canopy. Could have been much worse, for me. The canopy on an F-4 is about 1/2 inch thick. A large piece with a very sharp point fell behind my arm and was poking me. Fortunatly, I had nary a scratch. The implosion was violent and, as I said, it could have been much worse, for me.

[central_va]

F-4 are pressurized?

[central_va]

Look like this?

[JoeGar]

Want excitement? Try a normal landing, with two good engines, on an aircraft carrier — at night — in a rainstorm — on a pitching deck.

[vetvetdoug]

I too was reared on Edwards Street at Laughlin AFB and was a Del Rio Wildcat. Back then, the infusion of military brats made DRHS competitive with the area and since the integration of San Felipe didn't have a competitive football team until this past year. I spent many a day fishing the back water reservoir on the base SE of the golf course.

[LukeSW]

Yup! That's what he looked like before we met. There were two flocks of them. I missed the first flock, then looked at the lead aircraft quickly then came back to look ahead and BAM! my canopy exploded.

By the way, I never landed an F4 on an aircraft carrier, neither at night or in the day...and never wanted to either.