Training the Right Stuff: A comprehensive study of the training aircraft used to transition the United States military into the jet age. At the end of World War II, high-performance jets with unfamiliar and significantly different operating characteristics were replacing propeller-driven fighters. As accident rates soared, the Air Force and Navy recognized the need to develop new trainers to introduce fledgling pilots as well as experienced ones to jet flight. Both successful and failed programs are described, along with descriptions of jet-aircraft performance and operating characteristics; training requirements; and first-hand reminiscences of students and instructors.