F-35B Ship Suitability Testing

[mcmurray]

From last October, sorry if it's a repost;

[Wedge]

All kinds of awesome.

Hope they check the legs of that thing for stress fatigue as it sure bounces around allot.

[TurboR1]

I want one for Christmas

[TurboR1]

All kinds of awesome.

Hope they check the legs of that thing for stress fatigue as it sure bounces around allot.

Landing like that will cause less stress on those components than how conventional aircraft land, as you are not loading up the pistons with lateral loads.

[Known]

Weird seeing it taking off, it looks like it hasn't got anywhere near enough speed and is just going to casually plop however many millions of dollars into the ocean.

[vbroom]

how does it do that?
are the flaps opening at the bottom for jets pointing down or something?
very cool

[TurboR1]

Centrally mounted turbofan plus a main jet that can pivot down to provide vertical thrust.

Clever evolution of the concept used by the Harrier.

[Brougham]

damn marines (uss wasp)

[speed3]

Problem is the carrier variant the F35C can't land on carriers as the distance between the struts and the hook is too close to allow the wire to spring up. Apparently they're considering ditching the program as several of the buying countries are thinking of bailing on the purchase.

F-35C CANNOT LAND ON A CARRIER | aviationintel

Navy's £5bn Harrier jet replacement 'unable to land on aircraft carriers' - Telegraph

[mcmurray]

Which variant does the RAAF have on order? Are we getting the cool-ass VTOL version?

[speed3]

No carriers so you'd think standard variant, though we are developing those new Canberra class ships http://www.navy.gov.au/Canberra_Class which could deploy VTOL variants. From what I could see though canning one variant would raise costs per plane too high and could result in stopping all variants being produced.

[Scoundrel]

Which variant does the RAAF have on order? Are we getting the cool-ass VTOL version?

Nope, we getting the conventional one.

EDIT: What Speed3 said. This little fuckup could potentially cancel the entire program if costs spiral out of control (not that they haven't already)

[Kickass Koolridge]

Still prefer CAT launches.


Dat steam...


This is the F-35C, better suited to the stresses nuclear-powered carriers (USN Nimitz class) than LHD's (USN Wasp class, America class). Still not nearly as sexy as Hornet/Tomcat launches, though.

US Navy carrier operations needs are the source of the differences between the F-35C and the other JSF variants. The aircraft has larger wing and tail control surfaces to better manage low-speed carrier approaches. The F-35C has an increased-capacity structure for absorbing catapult launches and arrested landings, folding wingtips, and greater internal fuel capacity thanks to the bigger space available inside the airframe. The F-35C carrier-based (CV) variant will complement the US Navy's F/A-18E/Fs and replace F-14s and earlier model F/A-18s in US Navy and Marines service, while it is now destined to replace Harrier GR9, Sea Harrier and Tornado GR4 in the UK.

[Scoundrel]

Still prefer CAT launches.


Dat steam...

Aah yes, the sight, the smell, the sound. When the sun is out the non-slip surface of the flight deck warms up and it's strange aroma mixes with the smell of steam and aviation fuel. That, my friends, is the smell of awesome. Never been on a carrier during flight ops (I wish), but been on one when the cats were 'warm' to get that heady aroma and see steam spewing out the rear of the couplings just like on Top Gun. That was on USS Kitty Hawk.

[mcmurray]

If anyone in this thread hasn't seen the documentary "Carrier" I advise you to do so, it's awesome

[speed3]

From the raaf website. Australia only to get F 35A CTOL (conventional) variant.

More stuff about the F 35C probs below including UK, Turkey & Aus dissatisfaction of not being allowed access to electronic equipment coding.


Mission Impossible: F-35C jet fighter unable to land on carriers — RT

[mcmurray]

To be fair, surely the USN would be partly responsible for the C version design fuck-up, as they would have to sign off on the design documents before construction.

[speed3]

General/Admiral something or other opens folder yep it's got a tailhook, go ahead with it. I wouldn't be surprised if it was completely overlooked by everyone.

Also probs with B variant Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


On 6 January 2011, Gates said that the 2012 budget would call for a two year pause in F-35B production during which the aircraft may be redesigned, or canceled if unsuccessful. Gates stated, "If we cannot fix this variant during this time frame, and get it back on track in terms of performance, cost and schedule, then I believe it should be canceled."^{[288][289][290]}
Lockheed Martin executive vice president Tom Burbage and former Pentagon director of operational testing Tom Christie have said that most of the delays in the total program have been due to issues with the F-35B, which forced massive redesigns on the other versions.^[291]

The F35A is supposed to be a corker though.