Military AI Works

Had a pair of T-38s fly in to Bismarck yesterday morning. They were supposed to fly to Ellsworth but weather was caused them to divert here. They were sucking fumes when they got here. One had about 15 minutes worth of fuel left and the other had about 8 minutes left. The second also blew a tire on landing so the FBO I work at had to tow it off the runway. Good Times were had by all except for the airlines that had to divert due to the closed runway. LOL. The Talons are now residing in our hanger until 1.)the weather here lets up and 2.) a replacement tire gets here.

the weather here is terrible...the tankers here at GF were still flying tho

Sounds like a few pilots made it by the skin of their teeth. Pre-mission planning is a must, especially for an short legged jet like the Talon. Glad they made it, I learned long ago never pass up gas!

And how again does flying a T-38 prepare these guys for long endurance missions in the B-2??

Because the B-2 is so expensive to fly, a lot of proficiency training is done in the T-38. Can't really do a lot of TNG circuits in the B-2. Also I understand some T-38 are configured with electronics to simulate some of the B-2 weapons targeting and navigation systems. For lower cost training.

Plus they are just a kick to fly for the fun of it.

About half the time I get to fly real world TNG at KAFW in a LSA Remos, there are T-38's in the pattern.

As I understand it, when they did their mission plan the weather at Ellsworth was good enough that they were not required to file an alternate. When they got there, the weather had turned to crap so they had to go elsewhere. Bismarck was the only place at the time that had decent enough weather for them, so they came here. By the time they got here, it too was crap. Barely got on the ground. As far as preparing them for long endurance missions in the B-2, the pilot told me they just use them to stay current.

The military is strict on alternate airfield requirements and I don't know the USAF rules, but in the Army we have set limitations for primary and alternate airfield selection.

Much like the HO and BB T-38's, they are used for instrument currency, without the cost to fly a Raptor or B-2 around.