DT-III aboard USS America

[spazsinbad]

USS America is deliberately sailing into heavy weather for F-35B test purposes. The tie down chain arrangements will be appropriate as they have calculated / have tested both ashore first (story long ago now) and today. As one would imagine the aircraft are monitored closely by many people in regard to tie downs/movement; and of course for test monitoring.

UhOh - one can see why it is best to attach JPG/graphics to a post rather than hot link:

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=15492&p=195940&hilit=chain%2A+down+deck#p195940

Google Found Foto here: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TLy3B90q9hU/T ... _033_1.jpg

[zerion]

First F-35B Power Module, Engine Swap Take Place on USS America

PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- The F-35B Lightning II completed a new milestone during its third and final Developmental Test Phase (DT-III) by successfully completing the first power module and engine swap at sea in the hangar bay of amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6).

Mark Schroeder, the maintenance and logistics department head for the F-35 Pax (Patuxent) River Integrated Test Force (ITF), said the initial at-sea power module and engine swap went well and he attributes this success to embarked Marines assigned to Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron (VMX) 1, who developed the new engine removal and replacement (R&R) process. VMX-1 teamed with the Pax River ITF for DT-III to conduct integrated test across the spectrum of flight and maintenance events.

"Any time [the Navy or Marine Corps] acquire new aircraft, they are concurrently going to acquire the training resources that it takes to operate and maintain the jet," he said. "Marine maintainers who come to work on the F-35B have typically transferred out of an AV-8B Harrier or F/A-18 Hornet squadron as those aircraft wind down and migrate out of the fleet. The people here now will be the ones to bring the new generation of aircraft to the Marine Corps."

The Marines who comprise the VMX-1 maintenance team have been learning and testing F-35B maintenance procedures for approximately two years. During the engine swap on America, the team spent a week on the initial swap, making sure to account and track for each step of the process by entering each maintenance step into the Autonomic Logistic Information System (ALIS) -- a system which gives the F-35 team the ability to plan ahead, maintain, and sustain aircraft subsystems over the life of the aircraft.

The maintainers performing the engine swap had little difficulty throughout the process, but he explained although the meticulous process of performing a maintenance step, stopping to catalog the process, and stopping again to train takes time -- it's what they do.

"We are a test squadron; that's what we are and what we do," said Marine Staff Sgt. Mark Veliz, a F-35B power line mechanic. "Taking a week to test an engine swap is how we find obstacles and how we fix them."

Tests such as an engine swap are important, as those involved with the F-35B learn more about the aircraft and its capabilities. Results from early tests allow those assessing the aircraft to make adjustments to improve the efficiency of such actions for fleet maintainers.

"Testing the ability to swap entire engines or engine components at sea is vital, as this is the last opportunity for the Marine Corps to perform these shipboard maintenance actions in a sterile test environment before they deploy with the F-35B in 2018," said Lt. Col. Richard Rusnok, VMX-1 F-35B det. officer-in-charge (OIC). "During this short-term deployment, the team not only proved the engine maintenance construct, but also gained critical hands-on experience dealing with the confined space and deck motion aboard ship -- something that cannot be replicated ashore. Ultimately, the success of this evolution was a team effort between Sailors, Marines, government civilians, and contractor personnel. Together we demonstrated the synergy of the entire team as we supported the F-35B at sea."

"My guys handled it well," Veliz agreed. "It's an engine we know we can handle no matter where we are."

http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=97593

[spazsinbad]

USS America (LHA 6)
13 Nov 2016 NAVAiR

"America was illuminated by a supermoon as Air Department continued conducting flight operations into the night with the F-35B Joint Strike Fighters. It's the biggest, brightest supermoon in almost 70 years...."

Source: https://www.facebook.com/USSAmerica/pho ... =3&theater

[spazsinbad]

LM F-35 GM Weekly Update
03 Nov 2016 Jeff Babione

"BF-1 and BF-5 landed aboard USS America (LHA-6) for the final SDD ship trials on Friday, beginning Developmental Test (DT) III. The team and aircraft went straight to work, swiftly completing all of the pilot carrier qualifications over the weekend as well as welcoming five other F-35Bs that joined the party. Three F-35Bs from the Operational Test (OT) squadron, VMX-1, and two F-35Bs from VMFA-211 were added to the flight deck to accomplish a variety of operational test and simulation objectives. With seven F-35Bs operating aboard USS America, this deployment represents the most to ever operate from an amphibious assault ship, topping the Marine Corps deployment of six during OT-1 in May of 2015.

"During the next three weeks, we will be completing critical flight test for both Developmental Test and Operational Test,” said Lt. Col. Tom "Sally" Fields, F-35 Pax River ITF Government Flight Test director assigned to VX-23. “The ITF and VX-23 will be conducting DT work that will establish the boundaries of safe operation for the F-35B in the 3F configuration. VMX-1 will be conducting OT operations focused on preparing maintenance crews and pilots for the first deployment of the F-35B aboard USS Wasp, scheduled to start in just over a year...."

Source: https://a855196877272cb14560-2a4fa819a6 ... 1_3_16.pdf (0.8Mb)

[steve2267]

LM F-35 GM Weekly Update
03 Nov 2016 Jeff Babione

... snip ...

"During the next three weeks, we will be completing critical flight test for both Developmental Test and Operational Test,” said Lt. Col. Tom "Sally" Fields, F-35 Pax River ITF Government Flight Test director assigned to VX-23. “The ITF and VX-23 will be conducting DT work that will establish the boundaries of safe operation for the F-35B in the 3F configuration. VMX-1 will be conducting OT operations focused on preparing maintenance crews and pilots for the first deployment of the F-35B aboard USS Wasp, scheduled to start in just over a year...."

Source: https://a855196877272cb14560-2a4fa819a6 ... 1_3_16.pdf (0.8Mb)

Does this mean at least some of these aircraft are flying with a 3F software load?

[spazsinbad]

The ITF & VX-23 test aircraft BF-01 & BF-05 have the test 3F software/hardware as required for testing on USS AMERICA. AND... long article by Megan Eckstein on previous page of this thread says this:

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=52450&p=355662&hilit=Eckstein#p355662

"...The developmental testers [ITF & VX-23] are using the 3F software that brings the plane to full warfighting capability, with full weapons and data link imagery capability. VMX-1 upgraded one of its planes to that 3F software version; two of its planes have the 3I software variant that included an upgraded integrated core processor, and two have the 2B software that the Marines declared IOC with, with initial warfighting capability and a more limited set of weapons...." https://news.usni.org/2016/11/07/marine ... operations

[neptune]

The ITF & VX-23 test aircraft BF-01 & BF-05 have the test 3F software/hardware as required for testing on USS AMERICA. AND... long article by Megan Eckstein on previous page of this thread says this:

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=52450&p=355662&hilit=Eckstein#p355662

"...The developmental testers [ITF & VX-23] are using the 3F software that brings the plane to full warfighting capability, with full weapons and data link imagery capability. VMX-1 upgraded one of its planes to that 3F software version; two of its planes have the 3I software variant that included an upgraded integrated core processor, and two have the 2B software that the Marines declared IOC with, with initial warfighting capability and a more limited set of weapons...." https://news.usni.org/2016/11/07/marine ... operations

....sadly the whiners are again slipping with the Bee flying 3-F, well before the end of SDD.....boo hoo! :

...where ever the Bee goes the Aay is close behind...

....have any of the 3-F external weapons been loaded in these photos of DT-III??.....

[zerion]

More photos posted on the Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lockheedm ... 643509921/

[sferrin]

bruh.jpg (78.01 KiB) Viewed 18815 times

[spazsinbad]

ROCK & ROLL! Chain Chain Chain https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5781/306 ... eb_o_d.jpg (3.2Mb) & PLAYing AIR Guitar Again & LOPsided HOVER!: https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5670/310 ... b8_o_d.jpg (0.63Mb)

[sferrin]

Look at the nose gear in the high res version. Lot of flex there. (Not a bad thing necessarily, but I could see the basement dweller crowd flipping out.) Also see here at 2:53

[spazsinbad]

That video is from Nov 2011. I believe the nosewheel flex has been remarked upon at that time. I do recall it being a topic on pPrune with a good answer from the knowledgeable 'ENGINES' then. (steel is strong - design good - gear OK!)

LOOK at the FLEX on nose gear - 7 degree roll at photo time - pilot engine running & MG & NG minimal chains brakes ON.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5609/310 ... 5f_o_d.jpg (3.5Mb)

[spazsinbad]

Screenshot/time at second bounce from the 2011 video is below another new 2016 DT-III USN video aboard USS America.

[spazsinbad]

Someone at least did not spell LIGHTENING but TRAILS? - PUHLEEZ LM stop employing PR DYSLEXIC NON SPELLERS!

https://www.f35.com/media/videos-detail ... ty-testing

[spazsinbad]

I've quickly searched pPRUNE for the 'ENGINES' (I think) post about the wobble but have run out of time for the moment.

MEANWHILE: viewtopic.php?f=58&t=15969&p=274868&hilit=%27ENGINES%27+nose+gear#p274868
FOR: http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/ ... ost8455995

‘Engines’ 29 Apr 2014
"The landing gear layouts on the Harrier and the F-35 are fundamentally different, especially in the nose leg area. The Harrier has a 1950s style 'bicycle' or 'tandem' layout, & the weight of the aircraft is split almost 50/50 between the aft leg (we called the 'main') & the forward leg (which we called the 'nose leg').

What this meant for Harrier ski jump ops was that the front leg was fairly heavily loaded. We increased the liquid spring pressure for ski jump ops, and the limiting condition was to avoid total closure of the nose leg spring as it reached the end of the ski jump. (The leg started closing as it entered the ramp, & closed steadily as it approached the exit lip).

The F-35 has a more conventional 'tricycle' layout, with the two main gears taking around 90% of the load, the nose leg taking around 10%. The early checks on ski jump profiles & predicted launch speeds showed that the nose leg loads during ski jump launches were well within the highest design load, which was driven (I think) by vertical landings, with an arrival on the nose leg as the worst case, or with high lateral drift. The forthcoming tests at Pax will provide the real data."

Meanwhile a 'relaxed' nosewheel chained: https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5758/310 ... cb_o_d.jpg (3Mb) & HOOK.