Forum: General F-35 Forum

Singapore special report Feb 2012

http://www.flightglobal.com/Features/si ... l/defence/

“...Analysts and industry experts interviewed for this article are all but unanimous that Singapore will one day obtain Lockheed Martin's F-35. Like Israel, Singapore is a tier four "security co-operation participant" in the programme. While it cannot influence the design of the aircraft, it has access to programme information and can request special studies. Sources say Singapore could also be interested in the F-35B, the type's short take-off and vertical landing variant.

Huxley says Singapore's tier four status is appropriate because the eventual size of any Singapore F-35 buy would not have justified the country being a founding partner in the programme. "In all military areas Singapore tries, where possible, to acquire a qualitative edge over possible contenders, and other countries feel that only the F-35 offers this qualitative edge in the future. There is no other similar equipment in the pipeline, and it's effectively the only potential in terms of a new airframe."

Richard Bitzinger, senior fellow of the Military Transformations programme at Singapore's Rajaratnam School of International Studies, thinks Singapore could eventually buy up to 100 F-35s. "Delays in the F-35 programme are not a problem for Singapore because they probably won't place an order for several more years anyway," he says. "In 2015, I could see them upgrading some of their [Lockheed Martin] F-16s, and also ordering 40-odd F-35s, with an additional F-35 order perhaps in 2020."..."

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Col. Art Tomassetti on the X-35 & F-35:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZDk_JZH ... ploademail

Thanks. Nice clip of a simulator VL to an LHA. Info is for same video as original above. [Now on Utube: http://youtu.be/HehO94kygWo ] Screenshot shows the 'Hover Position Indicator Display'

NAVAIR Flight Crew: Col. Art Tomassetti

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZDk_JZH ... ploademail

"Published on May 23, 2012 by NAVAIRSYSCOM
Original Mission X test pilot U.S. Marine Corps Col. Art Tomassetti reflects on the differences between the X-35 and the F-35, and what the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter will bring to Naval aviation."

Transcript of Tomasetti video here:

Flight Pattern | Q&A with the first military test pilot to fly the X-35 and F-35

http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fu ... mp;id=5003

"...Q. First off, I think people want to know how you would compare your first flight in the F-35 with your first flight in the X-35?

TOMASSETTI: Amazingly enough, the events were very similar. The family resemblance between the aircraft is definitively there. They have in common solid flying qualities--making them very easy for basic flying tasks. They also fly like their simulators, which is good, in that it makes for few surprises when you are out there on flight No. 1 in a single-seat aircraft....

...Both flights were similar profiles: a [standard military power, without afterburner] takeoff; some basic test- and aircraft-handling maneuvers between 5,000 and 20,000 feet to get a feel for how the aircraft handles, with the landing gear up and down; some basic formation-flying tasks; and several landings....

...Q. You’re the vice commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base where fleet pilots, not trained test pilots, will be going for their initial training. With this flight, what are you going to bring back to them?

TOMASSETTI: First, I had to go through academics and simulator training just like our students at the 33rd. The ground training prepared me well, so I know our curriculum will serve the students well for their first flights.

Second, with more than 10 years of experience as a senior test pilot with the JSF program, I bring unique perspective. I understand where we are with the aircraft and the training system today and how we got here. I believe I can better prepare the 33rd Fighter Wing for training those first F-35 pilots and maintainers.

Q. In your opinion, what will the F-35 bring to the fleet?

TOMASSETTI: First and foremost, the fleet gets an airplane that is easy to fly and goes further in taking care of them than legacy airplanes they’ve flown. Considering that we have three variants of this aircraft, which include a carrier variant and [short takeoff and vertical landing] variant, something as seemingly simple as being “easy to fly” is really an amazing engineering achievement.

Even in this basic configuration of the F-35, there is a tremendous amount of information available to the pilot. We start flying now with the basic flight capabilities and aircraft systems and we master them. As the aircraft’s capabilities increase, we’ll increase what we train until we have our full combat-capable aircraft configuration with pilot and maintainers who are expert operators. That’s the key – going from just flying the aircraft to employing the aircraft. I am a Marine; I know what tactical aviation needs to bring to the battlespace. The F-35 will bring tremendous capabilities to U.S. and coalition forces to allow us to support those troops on the ground and dominate the battlespace...."

As Always More at the JUMP!

The one thing I want to know is this, are there backups ways to access systems should the touchscreen panel or its backlight fail?

The main screen is actually two independent displays that can be reconfigured on the fly should one go down.

There is a small display in center bottom part of the cockpit for flight info to get the pilot home should both main screens go down.

The pilot still has access to HMD info also.

Triple redundancy.
With a backup.

15 years with the F-35 (VIDEO, SLIDESHOW) May 31, 2012 JUSTIN HEINZE / Daily News

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/pilot-50032--.html

"...“It was just a concept then,” he said. “Just drawings and sketches on paper. Never in a million years could I have envisioned being with the program for this long. I never imagined getting to fly the prototype airplane and still be around when the program had been developed.”

As vice commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing, Tomassetti’s duties traditionally would be confined to a desk in an office. But because the program is so new, very few pilots have the experience needed to fly the F-35 today....

...Tomassetti said he was impressed with the operation of the jet, noting that it flew similar to the flight simulator.

“It may not seem like it, but that’s a big deal,” he said.

He pointed to the unprecedented situational awareness of the F-35’s helmet-mounted display as distinguishing it from prototypes.

“Imagine sitting at your desk in your office, and you have a giant touch screen in front of you that gives you 14 different windows,” he said. “More information is available to the pilot than ever before.”...

...“The younger generation is going to do exceptionally well with that (the helmet-mounted display),” he said. “Everything from the video games they play to the way they learn in schools, they’re better equipped for this stuff. It’s a bit more of a stretch for us older guys.”...

Jump at the More....

CAPTION: "NICK TOMECEK / Daily News
Marine Col. Arthur Tomassetti, left, prepares for a flight in an F-35B in the locker room at the 33rd Fighter Wing on May 23."
http://images.onset.freedom.com/nwfdn/m ... nwlf35.jpg

Ingalls Shipbuilding awarded US$2.38-billion contract for detail design construction
of
America-class amphibious assault ship LHA 7 ‘Tripoli’ June 01, 2012

http://www.marinelink.com/news/shipbuil ... 45153.aspx
-
“The U.S. Navy today awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries a $2.38 billion fixed-price-incentive contract for the detail design and construction of the multipurpose amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA 7). The ship will be built at the company’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division.

LHA 7 & LHA 6 are the first 2 ships in the new America class of amphibious assault ships.
Tripoli will be 844 feet long and 106 feet wide and will displace 44,971 long tons.
The fuel-efficient gas turbine propulsion system will drive the ships in excess of 20 knots.
She will accommodate 1,059 crew (65 officers) and 1,687 troops.

She will be capable of carrying a Marine Expeditionary Unit, including Marine helicopters, MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and F?35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft. Carrying a complement of F-35s allows her to serve the role of a small aircraft carrier, as demonstrated by LHD?class ship operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Like the future USS America (LHA 6), LHA 7 has an increased aviation capacity to include an enlarged hangar deck, realignment and expansion of the aviation maintenance facilities, a significant increase in available stowage for parts and support equipment, and increased aviation fuel capacity.

Similar to its predecessors, the ship will be able to operate as the flagship for an Expeditionary Strike Group.

Ingalls has built five Tarawa (LHA 1) class ships as well as eight Wasp (LHD 1) class ships. The first of the America class (LHA 6) is currently under construction and is scheduled to launch in June [2012]....”

INS Vikramaditya all set for crucial, pre-induction trials 06 June 2012 Vladimir Radyuhin

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a ... 494187.ece

"Aircraft carrier will be delivered to India on Navy Day, December 4

INS Vikramaditya will take to the sea for crucial pre-induction trials on June 8, Russian shipbuilding sources said.

Last month, the trials were put off by two weeks due to bad weather alerts. ...

...Extensive remodelling
Designed to operate only vertical takeoff aircraft..."

Something lost in translation I guess. At least the aircraft are not characterised as "VTOL 'Lightening 2s'" Very Happy

Last edited by spazsinbad on Jun 29, 2012 - 05:03 AM; edited 1 time in total

OLD info now but some of this PDF (17.5Mb) is about AV-8B testing on Ski Jumps on land and aboard Principe de Asturias with land based Ski Jump testing of USN aircraft including CRAT simulations. I'll leave youse to discover what CRAT is - nothing came of it but whatever.... Very Happy

UNITED STATES NAVY SKI JUMP EXPERIENCE AND FUTURE APPLICATIONS

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA244869 (17.5Mbs)

A specific 'ski jump' 15 page excerpt as described is attached with graphic [& quote] from same PDF.

Shipboard Tests - STO Launch Technique [AV-8B aboard Principe De Asturias]

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA244869

“A typical STO launch profile is illustrated. Nozzles are positioned to 10 deg below fully aft for the deck run to reduce vibratory loads on the flaps and stabilator. The launch begins with application of full power with brake release as the tires begin to skid. The stick is guarded in the preset trim position throughout the deck run and nozzle rotation. As the aircraft exits the ramp, the pilot positions the nozzle lever to the preset STO stop. Ramp exit cues are both visual (nozzle rotation line) and physical (decrease in load factor as the aircraft leaves the ramp). After ramp exit, the pilot task is to maintain the aircraft pitch attitude achieved at ramp exit (approximately 18.5 deg) and monitor angle of attack (AOA). If AOA reaches 15 deg during the trajectory, the pilot decreases the aircraft pitch attitude as required to maintain AOA at or below 15 deg. Immediately after ramp exit, the velocity vector indicates a climb due to the upward velocity imparted by the ramp. This initial rate of climb is not a true indication of aircraft performance, and decreases to a minimum at an inflection point prior to the aircraft achieving a normal semi-jetborne climb. Prior to the inflection point, the aircraft normal acceleration is less than 1 g. The aircraft has a positive rate of climb due to the ramp induced vertical velocity, but rate of climb is decreasing due to insufficient lift. At the inflection point, the aircraft has accelerated to an airspeed at which aircraft normal acceleration is 1 g (lift = weight), and rate of climb is no longer decreasing. After the inflection point is reached, the aircraft begins a normal semi-jetborne climb (normal acceleration greater than 1 g), and rate of climb increases. At this point, the pilot gradually vectors the nozzles aft and accelerates to wingborne flight.”

spazsinbad wrote:

Ingalls Shipbuilding,,contract for ... LHA 7 ‘Tripoli’ June .....”

PASCAGOULA, Miss., June 5, 2012

Ingalls Shipbuilding Launches the Multi-Purpose Amphibious Assault Ship America (LHA 6)

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division launched the U.S. Navy's next amphibious assault ship, America (LHA 6), from the company's floating drydock on Monday.

Cool video to go with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcN3XQqaZug

Aaaahhhh.... Another OLDie but a GOODie....

Tailhook? We don't need no stinking tailhook... 24 July 2012

http://thanlont.blogspot.com.au/2012/07 ... nking.html

"...One very non-traditional Marine Corps squadron deployment took place on the last cruise of Roosevelt. VMA-231, flying AV-8A Harriers, was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 19 for its cruise in the Mediterranean from October 1976 to April 1977....

...V/STOL advocates considered the experiment a virtually unqualified success. Complying with standard carrier cyclic operations (90-minute flight period for the conventional takeoff and landing airplanes) proved to be unnecessary since the Harriers could land in any open space during a launch/land cycle. Benefits demonstrated early on included no time or crew required to hook up to the catapult for takeoff, virtually no waveoffs (and zero bolters), and the ability to back into a designated parking space. The Harriers could also land with the ship steaming out of the wind in conditions that precluded the operation of its conventional airplanes...."

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SUQNES5a0vA/U ... ropped.jpg

As per usual always best to read the long article post at source.

And just for the enjoyment of only a very few readers here is the LHD Deck for Dummies at NAS Nowra. And yes it has no ski jump so no correspondence will be entered into on that mythical matter. Very Happy

Forum: General F-35 Forum

Possibility small STOVL carrier USN/USMC