First Northrop Grumman-Built Production T-38 Trainer Aircraft Makes Its Final Touchdo

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First Northrop Grumman-Built Production T-38 Trainer Aircraft Makes Its Final Touchdown in Los Angeles


'White Rocket' Aircraft to Go On Permanent Display At Company Facility Near LAX

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Nov. 5, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The first production-configuration T-38 pilot training aircraft built for the U.S. Air Force by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) landed today at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and rolled to a stop for the very last time.

Its image blurred by the heat of the jets landing before it, T-38 Talon N-963, the first production-configuration T-38 trainer built by Northrop Grumman, touches down at LAX for the very last time. The 46-year old aircraft, the oldest T-38 still flying, will be put on permanent display at Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems headquarters in El Segundo, Calif.


After the final flight in its 46-year career, T-38 Talon N963, the first production-configuration T-38 trainer built by Northrop Grumman, taxis in under the direction of Eddie Pedroza, a member of the company's F-5/T-38 engineering staff.


Dave Finney, the director of aircraft operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center, piloted T-38 Talon N963 on its final flight from Houston to Los Angeles.

Photos accompanying this release are available at http://media.primezone.com/noc/
The sleek, white supersonic aircraft now sporting a NASA logo, a blue nose-to-tail racing stripe and tail number N963, came to rest on the tarmac outside the former LAX Imperial terminal -- now home to the Flight Path Learning Center & Museum -- where company executives, employees and aviation enthusiasts had been waiting excitedly to witness aviation history.
After 46 years of serving the pilot training needs of the Air Force, the U.S. Navy and NASA, the Hawthorne, Calif.-built N963 aircraft and the oldest T-38 trainer still flying, was home.
"T-38 trainers, known to pilots as the 'White Rocket,' have been in service since 1961, preparing an estimated 80,000 military pilots to fly front line fighters and bombers," said George Vardoulakis, vice president of tactical systems for F/A-18 programs for Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector. "They continue to be among the safest, most reliable and highest performing supersonic aircraft in service today, a testament to Northrop Grumman's enduring strength as a first tier designer, developer, producer and maintainer of manned military aircraft."
Approximately 700 of the 1187 T-38s built from 1959 to 1972 remain operational today, he added. N963, which has spent its last 16 years training NASA shuttle pilots, was officially retired earlier this spring. The company plans to put the plane on permanent static display at Integrated Systems' sector headquarters in El Segundo.




Full story
http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=130651
 
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