Present civil T-38 in Thunderbirds colors
USA 200th years logo
Thunderbirds T-38 team leads by Thunderbirds F-100
This plane is owned by Ross Perot, Jr. This was not a Thunderbird airplane. The most noticeable difference is that the VHF the Thunderbirds mounted on the dorsal area has been moved to the tip of the tail fin. Other differences in Mr. Perot’s airplane are a larger speed brake and a deceleration chute housing at the base of the fin. too. The smoke isn't actually smoke. It's atomized oil. The oil is a very light weight oil used for agricultural spraying. The oil probe is placed in the exhaust system at a point where it does not burn, rather is atomized by the turbulence in the exhaust system. If you smell the smoke, you realize that it doesn't smell like smoke at all. It smells like oil...which it still is. When a pilot selects afterburner, the oil does burn and leaves no trace in the sky. (Thanks to Robert L. Gore for this info)
Diamond Crash site
Thunderbirds T-38 Talon Gallery
