A Buyer's Guide to Collector Aircraft
June 3, 2002
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc(); "T-38")
Since a landing mishap, model 65-10462 has been grounded for two decades. The T-38, which can reach a top speed of more than 800 mph, has 2,000 hours on its airframe, little more than 2,000 hours on the wings, and its two General Electric turbojets were recently overhauled. According to Thornton, the jet has undergone X-ray, fluorescent dye, and magnetic particle inspections to check its structural integrity. (Click image to enlarge)
The plane features fully pressurized cabins, each with “hot” ejection seats. Included in the cost of the jet are flight training for two pilots and a custom external paint scheme.
If that’s not enough to convince you that the T-38 is the ultimate air show, then consider that it was the jet of the ultimate air show performers. From 1974 to 1982, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds flung themselves through the sky in T-38s. “A T-38 is for the very wealthy guy who loves to fly and wants the ultimate flying machine,” says Thornton. “There is no safer, better-performing, more fun plane available in the civilian market. Period.”
Thornton Aircraft Co., 818.787.0205, www.thorntonaircraft.com
advertisement
