I too think you should compile your airforce life to a book , and I would buy it... but;
You have to tell me what the plan was for you.. You qualified in the T-38 which I believe was a supersonic jet trainer. But then the command assigns you to a T-33?? My first Captaincy was on the DC-9-30 (a slug by today's standards) and I have clear recollections of passing T-33's in the skies over western Canada. What did they think you could possibly learn flying the T-Bird?
At the time, everyone going through USAF UPT, flew the first half in the venerable T-37 Tweet, or “Six Thousand Pound Dog Whistle” and then thehotdamnthisissocoolIhavear
rived, T-38. The first ride in the “White Rocket” was known as the “Dollar Ride”, basically a freebie demonstration ride and going supersonic for the very first time. I remember the first few rides in the White Rocket as holding onto the tail trying to keep up with its much faster speeds and performance. But, solo day was the day of realization that “I have arrived. This is were I belong”. Well, here’s another short story idea.
Back to your question about the Tbird. Performance wise, it was somewhere between the Tweet and the White Rocket, closer to the later. The Tbird had the ability to carry a surprising amount of ice without adverse affect. I learned a lot about this flying the jet in all kinds of really poor weather conditions during the course of our assigned ADC Target Missions, especially during the winter. The other valuable aspect of flying the Tbird was developing an effective instrument crosscheck for approaches to low minimums in actual weather. Gluing the needles in the center on an ILS or having the PAR controller repeatedly calling “On Course, On Glidepath” was especially gratifying. The level of instrument proficiency and confidence I gained was invaluable, and great preparation for transitioning into the much higher performance of the F-106 Delta Dart, another one of those “now I have really arrived” moments of realization. Also, a ”I can’t believe this skinny runt from southern New Mexico gets to do this” moments! I had just turned 26 years old, and had been flying the rough winter weather of the CONUS and Canada in the Tbird since age 23.
Additionally, being an ancient dinosaur, the Tbird was prone to various mechanical issues, especially out on the road. Fortunately, at pretty much everywhere we stopped there was at least one grey haired old guy who has worked them back in the day, who could come up with a creative way to solve our maintenance problem. I learned about coloring outside the lines and to think out of the box, a skill set that has served me well ever since.
So, there were volumes to learn flying the Tbird, especially if one was eager to learn. I was.
Secondly, flying the Tbird was the ONLY way us young bucks were going to get assigned to the F-106. It was the lead in pipeline to the F-106 All Weather Interceptor world. NORAD was a complex system of GCI sites that provided command and control to ADC interceptors in the US and Canada that were on five minute alert reaction status 24/7 no matter the weather conditions, well except when a winter blizzard would dump several feet of snow against the alert barn doors. Other than that small inconvenience, when the klaxon went off, we had to be airborne within five minutes, no matter what the weather was doing. Then we had to come back and land in it. The Tbird was a great, and smart, way to get preparatory training for the rest of the story.
