What was that black jet ?

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I don't know what is was, but it's definitely is not one of our F-15 guard jets based here in Fresno. It had a very long front end and a very short diamond shaped wing span. I would say 2/3 of its entire length was its nose. I caught a glimpse of it as it was banking right. It looked like it could have been an F-5, F-104, or a MiG 28. It was all black and moving at a very high rate of speed; faster than our guard jets fly. It made several passes across the entire sky. Very quiet for a jet. Quieter than our F-15s and much quieter than our F-18s. I grabbed my camera, but I was too late.

Something like one of these:

Fast_Glass_Black_Jet.jpg


ad_brown_4.jpg


northrop-f-5-freedom-fighter.jpg


starfighter-03-530.jpg


02.jpg
 
That second article goes into it a little bit. I've never seen a black one myself, but apparently they have a batch of them that are upgraded so they can help train F-22 pilots and they are painted black. I only see the occasional T-38 around here.
 
Originally Posted By: WobblyElvis
Top pic, the wings are not swept back.???


Why is that a question? The L-39 has always had straight wings with the trailing edge slightly more forward-swept than the leading edge is aft-swept.

L-39ZO_Physical.jpg
 
L-39 Albatross's are awesome, you can own one personally as an Experimental class a/c. Nice ones ready to go can sell for as low as $300,000 but the fuel burn is what gets you in the wallet. About $2000 bucks for a few hours or flight or something.
 
You've got a mix of aircraft in those photos. As LoneRanger points out, the blue one with the wingtip tanks, the "T" tail, and "Starfighters" printed on the left side of the fuselage is a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. The rest seem to be either T-38 Talons or F-5s.

The T-38/F-5 in the black paint scheme with a red star on the tail is set up to play an aggressor role for training. Those aircraft typically have performance and agility capabilities close to one or more enemy aircraft pilots are likely to encounter in a shooting war. Aggressor pilots are also trained to use tactics used by those adversaries.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I don't know what is was, but it's definitely is not one of our F-15 guard jets based here in Fresno. It had a very long front end and a very short diamond shaped wing span. I would say 2/3 of its entire length was its nose. I caught a glimpse of it as it was banking right. It looked like it could have been an F-5, F-104, or a MiG 28. It was all black and moving at a very high rate of speed; faster than our guard jets fly. It made several passes across the entire sky. Very quiet for a jet. Quieter than our F-15s and much quieter than our F-18s. I grabbed my camera, but I was too late.

Something like one of these:

Fast_Glass_Black_Jet.jpg


ad_brown_4.jpg


northrop-f-5-freedom-fighter.jpg


starfighter-03-530.jpg


02.jpg


In order:
-L-39 Albatross
-T-38 Talon
-F-5 Freedom Fighter
-F-104 Starfighter
-F-5 Freedom Fighter

Note the T-38 & F-5 are modifications of the same design, hence the similar look.
 
Originally Posted By: tom slick
You saw a T-38 from Beale AFB.


I don't see how a T-38 would be flying faster than the fighters...
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: tom slick
You saw a T-38 from Beale AFB.


I don't see how a T-38 would be flying faster than the fighters...


It's just as fast as some, with a Mach 1.3 speed it's no slouch
cheers3.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Malo83
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: tom slick
You saw a T-38 from Beale AFB.


I don't see how a T-38 would be flying faster than the fighters...


It's just as fast as some, with a Mach 1.3 speed it's no slouch
cheers3.gif



Yeah, but the OP said it was flying faster than the fighters...to me that doesn't sound like a T-38...
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: Malo83
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: tom slick
You saw a T-38 from Beale AFB.


I don't see how a T-38 would be flying faster than the fighters...


It's just as fast as some, with a Mach 1.3 speed it's no slouch
cheers3.gif



Yeah, but the OP said it was flying faster than the fighters...to me that doesn't sound like a T-38...


One of the most innacurate measures of speed would be the OP, or any amateur, judging from the ground.

Relative motion, apparent size, etc. all make an eyeball on the ground completely erroneous...
 
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