Ed Rasimus wrote:

[respectfully snipped for brevity]

...and although not a "war" bird, a T-38--take a friend, go fast, look
cool and low cost of upkeep (relatively).

Colorado State University (in your neck of the woods, Ed) operated
a civil registered (N8234) F-101B to study severe storms. However,
the ultimate "go-fast-look-cool" warbird would be the F-101F -- a
fully-combat capable F-101B w/dual controls.

From the pitot tube on her purty pointy nose to her tiny batwing and
cherry T-tail, the huge Voodoo is manly yet graceful and sleek when
viewed from any angle.

The exposed aft sections of the engines along with her long, slender
tailboom that are scorched black from the extreme heat and exhaust
from the roaring afterburners mightily exude her awesome power even
while parked on the ramp!

Stressed for 7.3 G, the old Voodoo flew well -- as long as the pilot
avoided radical pitch maneuvers, of course. And she had panache
galore thanks to her spectacular rate of climb plus she could range
out to more than 2,000 miles with external tanks.

She was dependable and could be dispatched quickly on very short
notice: once during a scramble back in the late '60's, Dad said he
went from Klamath Falls, Oregon to Ogden, Utah in his powerful
Voodoo in less than 45 minutes....

Mind you, that's going from snoozing in his humble cot upstairs in the
alert hangar at Kingsley Field -- to engines shut down and wheels in
the chocks at Hill AFB some 450 nautical miles away.

She wasn't called the "One-Oh-Wonder" for nothing!