Jim (Smitty) Smith of OpenAirNet.com, TheHDPilot.com, and FunPlacesToFly.com, sent us this video of Gene Lee, one of the company’s employees, getting a lesson in aerobatics in his RV-7 from Rich Graham, a former SR-71 pilot.
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Hi Bryan and Jerry,
Yes, you are both right, aT-38 cannot be spun. It was my mistake due to being unfamiliar with those aircraft and Col Graham was quick to point out that I had it wrong when he first watched the video. But at that point the video was already on YouTube with my narration in it and there was no way to fix it.
So the best I could do was to correctly refer to the T-37 in the comments of the youtube video.
Good catch, you guys know your aircraft!
Gene
Look here. The reason we had no spin recovery procedure is because it is so very difficult to spin a T-38. Here’s a link to the T-38 spin testing report. http://books.google.com/books/about/T_38_Spin_Evaluation.html?id=j5nGcQAACAAJ
Looked like a whole bunch of fun. Could you explain the spin training in the T-38? I went through AF pilot training in 1971, and spins were prohibited. Was there spin training for instructors? I was under the impression the 38 was difficult to spin and drag chutes required to exit a spin. I did receive spin training in the T-37 during the program. Just curious. Thanks for the video.