Hi!

The T-37 is a piece of crap. When it was new, maybe it was a shinier piece of crap???

The two jet engines produce very little thrust.
The two jet engines are expensive to maintain.
The two jet engines burn WAY too much fuel.
The two jet engines are VERY noisy.
The aircraft is WAY underpowered.
The instrument panel is total crap, especially when they are trying to train you in instrument flying. If it was only a VFR trainer, this factor would not be as bad. One day, I brought my (no mil experience) buddy over to show him the cockpit of a T-37 (I think in ELP). He was SHOCKED at the instrument panel, and how poorly designed it was, ESPECIALLY for instrument training.
The non-pressurization is brutal on the cross-countries.
The air conditioning (did it even have any???) didn't work on the ground (I remember the T-38 A/C worked well in the air).
The ejection seat was crap.
I only flew it for about 40 hours, so I'm sure if I had more experience in the Tweet, the list of negatives would be a LOT longer.

And as far as reliable, safe, etc. I don't know the stats. I do know when I showed up for FWQ at Vance, on the first day, I saw a guy I knew who was in an earlier class. I asked him how training was going, and he said it was OK, but not great. A day or two before he had ejected out of the T-37 at low altitude. The plane caught on fire, and he and his IP made it out safely, thank God!

Did I like ANYTHING?
The side-by-side seating was good. The ability to spin was good. It was easy to land. I didn't have any mechanical problems with the plane.

cliff
NBO