Forum: F-35 Lightning II

From my undering of the EO / DAS System being developed for the F-35. Wouldn't such a system vastly improve the vision of the F-35C Pilot. While landing aboard the Carrier at Night. If, so it would drastically cut down on accidents and make night landing much safer! Very Happy

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Corsair1963, that would be my understanding. A briefing given to the Tailhookers in 2007 had a graphic of a 'night carrier'. The JPALS system could bring the JSF-C back in any event while as usual pilots would do a visual approach over the last mile or so as is done today despite other automatic landing aids available. However I don't have personal knowledge of USN NavAv in today's aircraft - just get this impression from much reading about subject online and elsewhere.

TAILHOOK '07 'Tom Burbage' brief from this forum: http://www.f-16.net/f-16_forum_download-id-12218.html

JPALS May 2002 brief: http://acast.grc.nasa.gov/wp-content/up ... allace.pdf

Well, thanks for the information. Clearly, USN Pilots are going to have it far easier coming abroad ship at night. Then they ever did so in the past.......If, I was a Navy Pilot. I know what type I would want to be posted too!

Perhaps a feature of a night deck landing missing (no matter what aids are used during the approach) is that there is a transition to 'visual' approach cues via the IFLOLS (mirror) and deck lights (& drop lights) for glideslope and lineup cues respectively. A Navy Pilot will use Optimum Angle of Attack approach speed also, so that the airspeed will change according to weight but the AoA Optimum remains the same. This transition on a dark moonless night without a sea horizon visible can be very difficult - but it is done - with practice and night landing currency. Automatic landings may be practised with the pilot also looking visually to monitor them and variations of above techniques with what is available today. Not sure how the JSF-C equipment will be used but for sure getting to within one mile visual with the visual landing aids at night GUARANTEED will be good.

[EDIT] You might ask why do not carrier pilots today do 'automatic landings' all the time. Keeping current for day/night carrier landings can be difficult. Sometimes (depending on situation) flight ops may not be 'every day'. Carrier pilots need regular practice/operations to remain qualified to carry out carrier landings so actually doing 'manual/visual' carrier landings is the best way to do that with the odd 'auto or semi-auto' carrier landing for practice when they might be needed. There is one such story in the USN APPROACH Safety magazine a few years ago when a Hornet pilot needed to do a 'monitored auto landing' because cockpit was fogged up and he could not unfog it before landing back aboard.[/EDIT]

Pilots need to be able to land 'visually' for various reasons, some would be if the auto equipment was faulty or not operable, or some comm secuirty issues (mostly likely avoided today though). Sea conditions may be over the auto landing equipment tolerances so then the pilot (with LSO monitoring) will do usual 'visual approach'. IF the IFLOLS is not working then the LSO can use the MOVLAS (manual mirror) backup mirror to guide pilot.

Yes, advances in precision approach equipment make the pilot job easier for sure. This precision is needed when required and for future UCAV (or whatever you want to call them) operations.

Two more pics from JPALS brief to show precision required.

Forum: F-35 Lightning II

F-35C, EO/DAS, and Night Landings?