Lockheed NT-33A Shooting Star
Given that jet fighters might be tricky to fly for pilots used to flying propeller aircraft, let alone new trainee pilots, Lockheed proposed in 1945 that a two-seat conversion trainer be built for the P-80 Shooting Star. The US Army Air Force rejected the idea on cost grounds, citing that the T-6 Texan already in service would be sufficient enough. After a series of fatal crashes of the P-80, the USAAF revisited Lockheed’s proposal, which included extending the P-80’s fuselage by three feet, extending the canopy backwards, and adding a second cockpit with full flight controls. This aircraft, designated first TP-80C on its maiden flight in March 1948, then TF-80C, then finally T-33A, would go on to be far more successful than the fighter it was based on.
The T-33 was designed to be simple, robust, and easy to fly for trainee pilots, though it was intended at first to be only used for propeller-qualified pilots to transition into jets. As propeller aircraft were mostly phased out of the independent US Air Force’s inventory, the service made the decision to go to an “all-jet” training syllabus, and as a result pilots began flying T-33s in flight school.
The “T-Bird,” as it became known, could still be unforgiving in certain circumstances, and was less forgiving as the T-37 Tweet or the T-38 Talon that would eventually replace it. It also was an aircraft for practical jokers: the in-and-outs of the T-33 was something only experienced pilots knew well, and trainees could be subjected to all kinds of tricks by the instructor pilot. The T-33 was, however, eminently reliable. Even after it was withdrawn from training units in the mid-1950s, it soldiered on as a “hack” aircraft for units, a familiarization aircraft, advanced trainer, and aggressor aircraft, especially in Air Defense Command and Air National Guard units.
Well into the 1980s, T-33s could be found in frontline USAF units, and it was said that, when the last F-16 was retired, the pilot would hitch a ride home in a T-Bird. While this did not prove true, it was not off by much—the last USAF T-33s did not leave the inventory until around 1988.
Because of its robustness and cheap flyaway price, the T-33 was also popular with foreign air forces: no less than 41 nations operated T-33s at one time or another, and it was license-built in Japan by Kawasaki and in Canada as the CT-133 Silver Star, which differed from US-built aircraft only in using a Rolls-Royce Nene engine. 6557 T-33s were built overall, and today over 80 and possibly as many as a hundred survive, with many still flyable.
51-4120 was built as a standard T-33 trainer, but would never serve in that capacity. Soon after it was delivered to the USAF, it was converted in the early 1950s to a NT-33A testbed with the nose of a F-94A Starfire, and was one of the few T-33s that was air-refuelable. When the Starfire testing period ended, it was loaned to the Cornell University Aeronautical Laboratory (now Calspan) and further converted to a flying simulator. Using a variety of different instruments and flight controls, 51-4120 could be programmed to simulate everything from the X-15 to the F-22. It contributed to the development of every frontline USAF aircraft of the 1980s, including the secret F-117 project.
When it was retired from service in April 1997, 51-4120 was among the last T-33s left in the USAF inventory, and the oldest aircraft still on strength, having served the USAF continually for 45 years. Because of its impressive record, the NT-33 made its final flight to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and went on permanent display at the National Museum of the USAF.
Today it is on display in the Experimental Aircraft Gallery next to the YF-23 Black Widow, still carrying 1950s era tail registration markings; it remains in bare metal with international orange panels for testing purposes.
Lockheed NT-33A Shooting Star
Given that jet fighters might be tricky to fly for pilots used to flying propeller aircraft, let alone new trainee pilots, Lockheed proposed in 1945 that a two-seat conversion trainer be built for the P-80 Shooting Star. The US Army Air Force rejected the idea on cost grounds, citing that the T-6 Texan already in service would be sufficient enough. After a series of fatal crashes of the P-80, the USAAF revisited Lockheed’s proposal, which included extending the P-80’s fuselage by three feet, extending the canopy backwards, and adding a second cockpit with full flight controls. This aircraft, designated first TP-80C on its maiden flight in March 1948, then TF-80C, then finally T-33A, would go on to be far more successful than the fighter it was based on.
The T-33 was designed to be simple, robust, and easy to fly for trainee pilots, though it was intended at first to be only used for propeller-qualified pilots to transition into jets. As propeller aircraft were mostly phased out of the independent US Air Force’s inventory, the service made the decision to go to an “all-jet” training syllabus, and as a result pilots began flying T-33s in flight school.
The “T-Bird,” as it became known, could still be unforgiving in certain circumstances, and was less forgiving as the T-37 Tweet or the T-38 Talon that would eventually replace it. It also was an aircraft for practical jokers: the in-and-outs of the T-33 was something only experienced pilots knew well, and trainees could be subjected to all kinds of tricks by the instructor pilot. The T-33 was, however, eminently reliable. Even after it was withdrawn from training units in the mid-1950s, it soldiered on as a “hack” aircraft for units, a familiarization aircraft, advanced trainer, and aggressor aircraft, especially in Air Defense Command and Air National Guard units.
Well into the 1980s, T-33s could be found in frontline USAF units, and it was said that, when the last F-16 was retired, the pilot would hitch a ride home in a T-Bird. While this did not prove true, it was not off by much—the last USAF T-33s did not leave the inventory until around 1988.
Because of its robustness and cheap flyaway price, the T-33 was also popular with foreign air forces: no less than 41 nations operated T-33s at one time or another, and it was license-built in Japan by Kawasaki and in Canada as the CT-133 Silver Star, which differed from US-built aircraft only in using a Rolls-Royce Nene engine. 6557 T-33s were built overall, and today over 80 and possibly as many as a hundred survive, with many still flyable.
51-4120 was built as a standard T-33 trainer, but would never serve in that capacity. Soon after it was delivered to the USAF, it was converted in the early 1950s to a NT-33A testbed with the nose of a F-94A Starfire, and was one of the few T-33s that was air-refuelable. When the Starfire testing period ended, it was loaned to the Cornell University Aeronautical Laboratory (now Calspan) and further converted to a flying simulator. Using a variety of different instruments and flight controls, 51-4120 could be programmed to simulate everything from the X-15 to the F-22. It contributed to the development of every frontline USAF aircraft of the 1980s, including the secret F-117 project.
When it was retired from service in April 1997, 51-4120 was among the last T-33s left in the USAF inventory, and the oldest aircraft still on strength, having served the USAF continually for 45 years. Because of its impressive record, the NT-33 made its final flight to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and went on permanent display at the National Museum of the USAF.
Today it is on display in the Experimental Aircraft Gallery next to the YF-23 Black Widow, still carrying 1950s era tail registration markings; it remains in bare metal with international orange panels for testing purposes.