Off Topic: Wheels, Gears, Turbines, Whatever...

That looks like the mighty Tweet!

Yes the T-37 Tweet and yes I am that old. During our Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) we flew the T-37, called the flying dog wizzle and the T-38 Talon. Earning my wings after that year in Texas is a memory, I will never forget.

And Kevin, also Merry Christmas to You and Your family and a happy new year.

No, no... it doesn't necessarily indicate age. I found this photo on the T-37 wiki page of the ramp at Sheppard AFB still full of them in 2007!

Thank you , and likewise to you and yours. Hopefully the world starts rotating in the right direction in 2022... not sure I can plug away through another year like 2021.

Kevin, You are correct. The T-37 was flown at Sheppard AFB that long with the new black and white painting of the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program. Both the T-37 Tweet and the T-38 Talon where painted in this colour. After that date, the T-37 was replaced by the T-6 Texan.

Please note the unpainted design of the T-37 and the completely white painting of the T-38 during my pilot training in the seventies in my picture above. During my UPT, we had only US Air Force, German Air Force and German Navy UPT Training and T-37 Training for Iranian and some Latin America students within the 80 TFW at Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Tx.

Our UPT, according to the USAF syllabus, included app. 130 hours T-37 and 130 hours T-38 within 13 month. The Iranean syllabus had more than 130 hours on the T-37 only to the first solo flight in the same time. Their T-38 Training was at a different Airbase in southern Texas. Do not remember exactly but it was either Randolph AFB or Lackland AFB near San Antonio, Tx. Even the Son the Iranean Emperor, Reza Pahlavi II, went through this training at Sheppard.

Btw. a funny radio communication between the Runway Supervising Unit (RSU), a little tower close to the smaller T-37 runway and an Iranean solo student. The RSU was called Coter. I do not remember the Irenean Solo Callsign, ours was Jack plus a number.

"Coter this is Jack 15, I am lost"

"Jack 15 this Coter, tell me about the area below You"

"Coter this is Jack 15, I am lost over the Ocean"

A few seconds of panic in the RSU but then the US Air Force instructor pilot realized, that any Ocean, even the Gulf of Mexico would have been outside the range of the mighty Tweet.

A longer conversation then took place between the Iranian student and the instructor pilot in the RSU. The experienced IP found out, that the student was only over the Lake Texoma (app. 60 NM east of Sheppard AFB). The IP was then able to talk the student back to Sheppard AFB for a safe landing. That was one of the reasons for those 130 hours to the first solo.

Annother Iranean solo student bailed out of his Tweet, because the sun was shining on his Engine Fire T-Handles .

It really takes some time to retrain an Iranean from a camel to a jet aircraft and this although most of the Iranean students where from the upper class of her country. Arrogant bastards, I must say. And they where even not allowed to drive cars in Texas before their first solo flight, because of the many accidents, they had.

One of those idiots bought a uge Winnebago Camper. One Sunday morning he was found upside down besides the highway to Amarillo. Asked by the highway police for the cause of the accident, he said, he switched on the autopilot in order to get a cold drink from the refigerator but then the AP failed!!!!

Sorry but the old man reminisces again.

@HTMO9 it's indeed strange to think that it was not very long ago that Iranian pilots were training with the USAF while F-14 Tomcats were being sold their air force.

The world changes quickly!

Speaking of Iranians in US jets, if anyone is interested in the topic the F-14 Tomcast did an episode on exactly that subject: LINK Definitely a unique historical aside.