First F-35 multi-flight day - Flight #14 and #15

Discuss photos, special paintschemes and serial numbers of the F-35
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by Shaken » 01 May 2007, 18:42

idesof wrote:
dwightlooi wrote:
idesof wrote:Very nice! Anyone know why the ground clearance is so high? A pilot would kill him/herself if she were try to get out of that cockpit without a ladder. Does it have anything to do with the jetflow requirements of the V/STOL version?


It may have something to do with:-

(1) Suspension travel desired for the CV version.
(2) The clearance needed for the pivoting nozzle and its doors on the STOVL version.
(3) Clearance needed to maneuver bulky 2000 lbs class stores and their handling trolleys under the fuselage and weapon bay doors so they may be loaded.

Or, all of the above.


All of them good points, with No. 2 perhaps being the most important. I must say that the F-35 is one ungainly looking creature on the ground, and not terribly attractive except for certain angles in the air. I honestly think that's one of the primary (subconscious) reasons why so many are not fond of the F-35: considering that it is replacing what many feel is the most beautiful fighter aircraft ever fielded (F-16, of course), the F-35 is a huge letdown in aesthetic terms. So much for looks right, flies right...


Don't forget there is a centerline stores station. This carries, among other things, the "missionized gun pod" for the STOVL and CV variant. That is not a pretty good sized pod.

-- Shaken - out --


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by Happy_Gilmore » 02 May 2007, 01:53

Well, I wasn't really trying to argue its aesthetic merits. How can anyone make an objective argument regarding a subjective judgement?

I also wasn't trying to argue, just giving my opinion, nothing more than that.
I happen to think that the F-35 looks better than the F-16 and especially the F-18.

Gotta disagree with that but once again, everyone has their opinion and you know the rest of that saying.


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by asiatrails » 08 May 2007, 05:39

Happy,

Can you imagine this in either the Thunderbirds or Blue Angel's colors

Get the photo shop out and see what can be done !!!

Fat Albert would get a complex and want to be renamed.

Picture is from the airpower.callihan.cc website a good one for those of us far away from WPAFB.
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USAFM-X32A.jpg


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by VPRGUY » 08 May 2007, 14:36

Damn asiatrails, I just ate breakfast, and you had to go and drag that thing out. I think I'm gonna be sick... :shock:
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.


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by parrothead » 08 May 2007, 14:46

VPRGUY wrote:Damn asiatrails, I just ate breakfast, and you had to go and drag that thing out. I think I'm gonna be sick... :shock:


:lmao:

That thing reminds me of something out of a Sci-Fi movie where the underdogs have the "funky" lookin' ships :P !

I hope someone does a photoshop of T-Birds and Blues on it :lol: !
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by KeithTCU82 » 08 May 2007, 19:54

I gave it a shot
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by idesof » 08 May 2007, 20:05

KeithTCU82 wrote:I gave it a shot


Not bad at all, and as suspected, it is ugly as hell. But I think the other posters were suggesting an "artist impression" of the X-32 in Blue Angels colors.


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by Draykov » 08 May 2007, 20:30

Okay, I've got a stupid question...does anybody have information about what the test flight schedule looks like, or is it safe to assume that LM and Uncle Sam want to keep that kind of thing relativley quiet?


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by idesof » 09 May 2007, 02:22

Draykov wrote:Okay, I've got a stupid question...does anybody have information about what the test flight schedule looks like, or is it safe to assume that LM and Uncle Sam want to keep that kind of thing relativley quiet?


The supposedly Most Reliable Plane of All Time is broken right now, so who knows when flying may restart. LM and Uncle Sam of course don't want to commit to a schedule, precisely because the thing may turn out to be a lemon and they don't want egg on their face.


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by Orangeburst » 09 May 2007, 03:35

checksixx wrote:
honkhntr wrote:Does the F-35 use a standard center control stick, or a Side Stick set-up like the F-16?

Honk


Your answer sir...




Silly observation..Is it me or do those canopy struts look kinda flimsy? Seems like alot of weight especially being so far forward in lift. Reminds me of the hatchback struts on my '78 VW Scirocco 25 years ago. Man those things were a pain especially when they became unbalanced in cold and heat. Would hate to see another cockpit extraction issue.


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by Draykov » 09 May 2007, 03:44

idesof wrote:The supposedly Most Reliable Plane of All Time is broken right now, so who knows when flying may restart.


Wasn't it just up a week or two ago? What'd I miss?


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by VPRGUY » 09 May 2007, 03:47

The supposedly Most Reliable Plane of All Time is broken right now, so who knows when flying may restart. LM and Uncle Sam of course don't want to commit to a schedule, precisely because the thing may turn out to be a lemon and they don't want egg on their face.


Or, could be that this is one helluva high tech machine, and things break. Toyota's and Honda's are touted as some of the most reliable vehicles in the world, so why do the dealerships have mechanics and service bays? Because even the most reliable vehicles out there break down sometimes.

LM and Uncle Sam of course don't want to commit to a schedule, possibly because there may be a thunderstorm that day and they can't fly. Or, one pilot may have a cold and the other one has a staff meeting. Or, since this is pretty much a one-of-a-kind machine right now, they don't want some yahoo with a rifle hanging out at the departure end of the runway because he KNOWS the F-35 is giong to be taking off at xxxx time on yy day. You know, come to think of it, I don't ever recall seeing the flying schedule for any of the squadrons I was in posted in a public domain. Those F-16's just must have been lemons, and the Wing King didn't want egg on his face...

There is such a thing in the Military as "need to know". What does that mean? That just because you've got a Top Secret clearance, for example, you do not just get access to whatever TS materials are out there. Something does not have to be cleared "Top Secret" or even "Secret" to be classified as "Need to Know". As cool as it would be to know when the F-35 is going to be flying, in addition to a number of other features, the fact of the matter is we don't "need to know".
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.


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by VPRGUY » 09 May 2007, 03:50

Silly observation..Is it me or do those canopy struts look kinda flimsy?

I remember thinking the same thing when I say the canopy actuator connections on the F-16 (single seat, anyway). Not a whole lot to it. But, that is why we were'nt allowed to raise/lower the canopy while the airplane was moving, guess they were afraid that would just strain it a little too much. F-15's are the same way, one tiny little actuator waaaay back near the hinge point. Those engineers must really know what they're doing!
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by playloud » 09 May 2007, 05:37

KeithTCU82 wrote:I gave it a shot


Nice. However, that is the F-35 that you Photoshopped. The plane that was shown before was the X-32 (ugliest plane in history IMHO.)


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by parrothead » 09 May 2007, 07:20

idesof wrote:The supposedly Most Reliable Plane of All Time is broken right now, so who knows when flying may restart. LM and Uncle Sam of course don't want to commit to a schedule, precisely because the thing may turn out to be a lemon and they don't want egg on their face.


Of course, it could be because they know that in testing, especially when testing something very expensive and unique, they know and somewhat hope that stuff will break.

Let me say that again in a slightly different way - they probably hope that some stuff will break in a way that won't crash the jet. Why would they WANT stuff to break??? Well, if it breaks in testing, they can fix it and make sure it doesn't happen in an operational environment. Testing can be developed and repair TOs can be formulated. It's good to figure it out now.

Also, the new Corvette was designed to be the highest performance, most reliable Corvette of all time. Care to guess how many prototypes broke and in how many different ways during testing? A WHOLE BUNCH! I remember seeing a show where one of the test mules was doing a speed run on the autobahn - 188 MPH :D ! Then it just quit. The culprit was a plastic impeller in the fuel pump if I remember correctly. They fixed that. There were problems with cooling, brakes, just about everything.

It all gets tweaked and tuned in testing to make it as good as possible for the end user. IT'S WHAT PROTOTYPES ARE ALL ABOUT.

So why try to set an arbitrary schedule?
Last edited by parrothead on 10 May 2007, 07:26, edited 1 time in total.
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