Star Wars Canyon in Southern California used to be one of the most well-known low level training route in the world for fighter jets. Or at least it was until 2019, when a Navy pilot crashed in the canyon. The pilot was killed, and several onlookers were injured.
The place was a favorite among aviation photographers, chasing epic shots of jets maneuvering between canyon walls below them. Both the Navy and Air Force have since stopped using the canyon, citing safety concerns. They will fly above it, but not below the rim.
Private pilots however ARE still allowed to use the canyon, and do so regularly. Including Gregory WIRED Colyer, who took me on a trip through the canyon (watch below) in one of his T-33 Shooting Stars.
WATCH: Flying theT-33 Ace Maker through Star Wars Canyon
The Ace Makers
He owns 3, and calls them the Ace Makers. Colyer flies them at air shows nationwide throughout the year. He also supports both USAF and Navy Test Pilot Schools, providing students with T-33 flights that they then have to evaluate and write a report about.
“With the students it’s an unknown aircraft qualification,” says Colyer. “So I give them an hour ground school on the T-33 and then give them a cockpit checkout, then they go through the POH and get all the performance numbers for takeoff and time-to-climb and things like that.
“Then we go up and fly their test cards which includes a little bit of everything. Rudder doublets, controllability issues, the aileron boost on and off, aerobatics and low-level flying, just as if they were flying the jet for the first time back in the late 1940s.”
“The Navy TPS students evaluate the T-33 as a ground attack aircraft too, while the USAF TPS students evaluate it as a primary and advanced trainer,” adds Colyer. “So they are evaluating it for its intended use as if they are back in the 1950s.
America’s First Jet Trainer
The T-33 was America’s first jet trainer, developed by Lockheed’s legendary Skunk Works to train P-80 pilots (F-80). Those pilots were fresh out of WWII and made flying propeller fighters look easy, but the transition to jets with new tech and capabilities was anything but simple. Several crashes occurred, making it clear that a trainer was critically needed.
Other variants were produced too, including some for combat and photo reconnaissance. Other nations were also granted licenses to develop their own, such as Canada. You can read more in-depth about the T-33 in one of our previous report.
Most nations have stopped using T-33s. The jet was first put into production nearly 80 years ago. But they still thrill avgeeks any time one is spotted, especially those who know their history.
“The Shooting Star was always one of my favorite jets growing up, being our first jet fighter and watching movies such as Jet Pilot,” says Colyer. “It’s classic lines just sang out to me. I flew a friend’s T-33 in 2007 and knew I had to have one. I felt like I had been flying it all my life. Acquired my first one in early 2008 and 5 hours later I was type rated in her.”
More than 7,000 T-33s were built, and since its introduction, the jet has been flown to help train more jet pilots than any other training aircraft type in history. Even the world famous USAF “Thunderbirds” used T-33s once upon a time, serving as the team narrator’s aircraft and being the VIP / Media ride aircraft in the 1950s and 1960s.
As of mid-2023, 65 T-33s are flying in private hands. Many are also on display at museums around the world.
