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George R Blair Jr
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Naked T-38

January 6, 2019 · in Photo Collections · · 13 · 2.4K

In 1990, I was an instructor pilot and wing staff officer assigned to Randolph AFB in San Antonio, Texas. At the time, the wing was flying T-37's and 's. I was on my way back from a meeting and happened to pass the wing paint shop and noticed they had a T-38 completely stripped of paint awaiting a new paint job. I had never seen a T-38 without paint before, so I stopped in and asked if I could take some pictures. They kindly allowed me to walk around and snap some photos, which I thought some of you might find interesting. Enjoy.

Reader reactions:
11  Awesome

12 additional images. Click to enlarge.


13 responses

  1. Very interesting George, thanks for posting !

  2. Thatt's very cool, George. Great reference material, too.

  3. Great photos, George. Thanks for sharing them with us.

  4. Now THAT would be a challenging "paint" job to replicate on a model, wouldn't it?

    • In my mind I think of a plane as "metal", but you don't realize the variety of types of metals until you see the different metallic tones. Not to mention the other materials and composites that go into the construction. I will stick to painting camouflage, thanks.

  5. Fantastic reference for building a bare metal aircraft, Great pictures.

  6. Gracias por estas fotos tan ilustrativas.Resulta muy interesante para un modelista ver un fuselaje sin pintar de un avión real.

  7. Great diorama idea. I’m glad I don’t have a T-38 in the stash. 🙂

  8. Thank you for that amazing inspiration, George

  9. They look so weary without their clothes on!

  10. Still sleak though.

  11. Just picked up on this one George, but priceless to see these photos of an aircraft waiting for the paint shop!
    Many thanks

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