A Beale AFB T-38 was parked over at the FBO when I was at Boeing Field. The canopies were up which gave me optimism but you never know whether they are just doing something to the jet or maybe haven’t long arrived. When the crew walked out to the jet, I realized it was good news. They taxied to the other end of the field and I waited. A nice low departure kept them below the skyline of the hill beyond the field and I was happy with a slightly unusual visitor being photographed.
The Boeing T-38 chase jets are something I have not had much success in hunting down. I have got some shots but they were not in great conditions. I did have another chance recently when at Boeing Field but, guess what, the clouds rolled in at just the wrong time. The T-38 flew nicely down the approach and provided a great opportunity but the light was not really playing ball. Still, at least I got some shots, even if the colors are hardly popping.
A trip to the beach can only be improved on by one thing. Fast jets! A four ship of T-38s flew over while we were walking on the beach. What more can I ask for?
As the visit to McCarran was getting towards the time we needed to leave for the Red Flag launch, we checked Flightaware and saw that a NASA T-38 was inbound. This was worthy of some attention. The question was, which runway would it land on? We hopped in the car and headed off to a spot near the 25 threshold. This was the direction it was coming from. If it made a straight in approach, we would catch it here. If it was directed to the 01 approach, it would need time to reposition and we would be able to move to a more suitable location.
We tracked the plane online and a look at the line of airliners up the approach told us it was going to 01. A hasty change of locations followed and we got to a suitable spot. An Aero Commander landed first which gave us an idea of the approach path. Then, the T-38 came into view. As is the case with the Talon, it was motoring down the approach. A quick adjustment and a few shots and then it was gone. All rather brief but a nice way to wrap up the visit.
