Mar. 07, 2005 Dryden Flight Research Center P.O. Box 273 Edwards, California 93523 Phone 661/276-3449 FAX 661/276-3566 Alan Brown NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Phone: 661/276-2665 alan.brown@dfrc.nasa.gov RELEASE: 05-09P T-38 SUPERSONIC TRAINER JET GETS NEW HOME NEW ARRIVAL -- A sleek, supersonic T-38 trainer jet is taxied into the parking ramp at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center by Dryden's chief pilot Gordon Fullerton, marking the return of the type to Dryden for the first time in more than 10 years. Formerly assigned to NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., the aircraft had supported various aeronautics research projects there for a number of years. The aircraft will be used by NASA Dryden's research pilots for proficiency and mission support flights. Dryden operated two T-38s for a number of years, replacing them with newer F-18s. However, the cost of maintaining and operating the F-18s make the fuel-friendly, lower maintenance T-38 an attractive addition to Dryden's fleet. NASA has also operated a small fleet of T-38s for pilot proficiency and training for astronauts at the Johnson Space Center in Texas since the mid-1960s. --NASA Dryden photo by Tony Landis -NASA- PHOTO EDITORS: A publication-quality photo to support this release is available for downloading at: http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/T-38/HTML/EC05-0041-2.html -end-