Bricks in Space

T-38

T-38

LEGO Designer:


Designed: August 2020

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The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer. It was the world’s first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2020 in several air forces.

The United States Air Force (USAF) operates the most T-38s. In addition to training USAF pilots, the T-38 is used by NASA. The U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland is the principal US Navy operator (other T-38s were previously used as USN for Dissimilar air combat training until replaced by the similar Northrop F-5 Tiger II). Pilots of other NATO nations fly the T-38 in joint training programs with USAF pilots.

As of 2020, the T-38 has been in service for over 50 years with its original operator, the United States Air Force.

NASA operates a fleet of thirty-two T-38 aircraft and uses the aircraft as a jet trainer for its astronauts, as well as a chase plane. Its fleet is housed primarily at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas. NASA’s internal projections show the number of operational jet trainers falling to 16 by 2015. The agency spends $25–30 million annually to fly and maintain the T-38s.

During the Space Shuttle era it was established NASA tradition for astronauts to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center in T-38 Talons.

Further Information and References

Designer Notes

I’ve included two versions, the older white one and the iconic newer version with the blue stripe. I’ve left the tail blank to customize with a tail number and NASA logo decal if you want. The plane is submodeled into intuitive sub assemblies which can be easily pieced together. I’ve also added landing gear which of course and unfortunately, is not retractable. I’ve also added an optional drop tank which is not necessary, but does improve the structural integrity of the model which is already pretty sturdy. One thing I am concerned about is if it is tail heavy and won’t balance on the gear. Worst case scenario, add some clear bricks to the back to hold it up. Enjoy!

Part count: 67 bricks, 42 lots.

Unit width length height
Studs 15.6 9.0 5.8
Inches 4.9 2.8 1.8
Centimetres 12.5 7.2 4.6

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