Forum: F-35 milestones

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. - At a test range near Naval Air Station Patuxent River,
Md., two F-35B test aircraft accomplish a formation test point March 17.
Lockheed Martin test pilot David "Doc" Nelson flew BF-2 and Royal Air Force
Squadron Leader Steve Long piloted BF-3. The F-35B and F-35C variants are
undergoing test and evaluation for delivery to the Marine Corps and Navy
respectively. Very Happy

http://www.navair.navy.mil/press_releas ... mp;id=4536

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Monday, April 4th, 2011

Lockheed Martin F-35 Flight Test Program Shows Progress in First Quarter

Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35 Lightning II test jets made considerable flight test progress during the first quarter of 2011, conducting 199 test flights versus a plan of 142 flights. Additionally, the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant logged six times more vertical landings in the first quarter than in all of 2010. The test program remained ahead of plan despite the grounding of various test fleet aircraft for 4-15 days during the period as officials investigated the cause of a dual generator/starter failure during a flight on March 9th.

The following totals and highlights provide a snapshot of flight test activity in the first quarter:

Conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL: F-35A) aircraft conducted 82 flights against the plan of 62.
STOVL (F-35B) aircraft conducted 101 flights against a plan of 62.
Carrier variant aircraft accomplished 16 flights of 18 planned.
Two production-model aircraft, AF-6 and AF-7, flew for the first time in preparation for delivery to the U.S. Air Force this year. AF-6 and AF-7 flew seven times in the first quarter.
The STOVL variant performed 61 vertical landings (compared with 10 vertical landings in all of 2010). BF-1 performed the first touch-and-go maneuver in VL mode this quarter.
From the start of flight testing in December 2006 through March 31, 2011, F-35s have flown 753 times, including production-model flights.

http://f-35.ca/2011/lockheed-martin-f-3 ... t-quarter/

STOVL F-35 Makes Headway Towards Sea Trials
Posted by Graham Warwick at 4/5/2011 10:29 AM CDT

In numbers terms, the F-35B STOVL variant of the Joint Strike Fighter has made rapid flight-test progress since the beginning of the year, racking up 61 vertical landings compared with just 10 in 2010. Improving mechanical reliability and adding aircraft to STOVL-mode flight testing appears to be paying off.

There is still work to be done to clear the F-35B for initial sea trials, now planned for late October or early November. According to Lockheed, two more vertical-landing (aka VL) test points are required: a pirouette VL to test side loads on the landing gear; and a 20kt-crosswind VL (for which the weather will have to cooperate).

In addition, 17 more unique short take-offs in different conditions and a fuel-purge test are required before the aircraft can be cleared for sea trials. Ship operability is one of the key characteristics that will determine whether the STOVL F-35 survives the two-year probation period imposed by defense secretary Robert Gates earlier this year.

Probation does not affect testing, but limits F-35B procurement to six each in FY2012 and 2013. Other key characteristics that will drive the decision on whether the F-35B will exit probation near the end of 2012 include weight, and specifically vertical-lift bring-back payload - roughly 3,000lb of unused weapons and fuel. The F-35B is meeting the spec, Lockheed says, but margin is tight.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/de ... d=blogDest

1- Are the Brits, still paying for the Short Rolling Landing Test for the "Bee"?, and when is the test results report scheduled? And is the test requirement in "excess" of the 3,000# bring back?

2- Now that the "Bee" is flying and making ground, is the USAF finally going to admit that the "Aaa" is less capable in the CAS replacement role of the A-10C and the "Bee" is the "right" a/c for that mission. Will the Army (the Client) have a say in the CAS type assignments? The ugly head of commanality rises again.

3- Is the 8,000m laser guided 70mm rocket a "Bee" candidate for the CAS role.

What exactly would make the B superior in CAS role if you don't mind my asking? As they all have the same sensor suite, I would think the internal cannon of the A would make it more suited for the CAS role if anything.

Austere basing would allow the B to respond faster to CAS needs and have a higher sortie rate. This was shown to be true in ODS with the forward deployed Harriers.

HaveVoid wrote:

What exactly would make the B superior in CAS role if you don't mind my asking? ..

The cannon is certainly a formidable weapon; as both are equipped with different versions. The CAS role does not require the internal weapons for stealth and thus can be armed with several different weapon types; missles, bombs, (perhaps rockets?) for surface attack. The often banned cluster bomb can be used to deny areas to the enemy. The most significant difference is the ability to hover and deploy precision or surgical weapons; even the rocket has an 8,000 meter range and can be laser guided. The "Bee" can be forward based as "SpudmanWP" responded and can hurry to the scene and hang around longer before returning to it's forward basing. Shorter runs equals more frequent return trips after re-arming and/or refueling; more persistence. Couple all this capability with the ISR tools and CAS for the "Bee" will write a new book on support for the "ground pounders". Fast movers are a welcome relief for folks under pressure and are greatly appreciated but the "hanging around" ability of the "Bee" is not unrecognized. Smile

Infantrymen don't really care what platform their CAS comes from. But we generally prefer assets that can hang around for awhile, so aircraft (be they birds or fast-flyers) that can be based nearby are the best. I'm guessing that the F-35B fits the bill, even without an internal gun.

For most of the CAS missions where the need to maintain a VLO signature is not needed, the F-35B can carry the external gun which has more ammo than the internal one on the F-35A.

Why is this 'Overview of test flight' thread being taken over by a CAS discussion? Buehler? Anyone? Very Happy

I'll start a new thread now.

GO here for CAS & STOVL testing discussion:
F-35B Ship Tests/Bringback & Endless CAS Discussion Smile

http://www.f-16.net/index.php?name=PNph ... 349#194349

Last edited by SpudmanWP on Apr 06, 2011 - 12:59 PM; edited 1 time in total

I have a request of Energo (and others who might have the information). While surfing the net, I came across a 2007 schedule for testing the JSF. Now obviously the program is behind that schedule. What I decided to find out is what would it take to make up that slippage and what timeframe would be needed. Here is the 2007 schedule.

I took that information and plugged it into Excel along with what information I could find on quarterly updates. I am missing most of the flight totals (but was able to to extrapolate some) for FY2010. If anyone has the flight totals for Dec 31st 2009, March 31st 2010, June 31st 2010, or Sep 31st 2010 it would be helpful to validate that section of my graph.

Anyways, It looks like the program has "turned the corner" that it should have done in the 1st Qtr of FY2010 (they are 15 months behind the curve now). I have figured out that they need a 21% increase in flight tests per quarter to meet the 5000 tests by the end of FY2013. Over the past year they have easily beat that %/Qtr increase, but I need the data I asked for above to verify the exact %/Qtr increase. Here is what I have so far.

Also, does anyone have the latest, full-program flight test schedule (like the 1st graph above)?

That makes for some real interesting reading spudman. But you have another variable you need to contend with. The F-35 test pilots have been knocking off more test points per flight then planned. So they might not need as many test flights as planned. The problem with dealing with test flight rates is that it only takes one component failure to ground the whole fleet and eat all the schedule cushion that everyone has worked so hard to create.

I would also like to add the planned schedule each time it was changed. Anyone have those either?

As of April 5, 2011, the F-35 flight test program has conducted 769 flights total, including 222 flights in 2011.
*Flight numbers include production-model flights.

As of April 5, 2011, the F-35B variants have completed 64 vertical landings (10 in 2010).

The first five Low Rate Initial Production aircraft have exited the factory and are undergoing ground testing prior to flight.

2010 Estimated Average Unit Recurring Flyaway Cost
• F-35A CTOL $65 million

Yeah, leave the dreaming kiddies in their peaceful slumber.

I decided to take another look at my numbers and discovered a miscalculation. The rate of improvement (Blue line) only needs to be 5% (not 21%) to get to a realistic completion of the 2007 sch about 1 year behind the curve. I also added a projection if the current rate never changed (Orange line).

I am still looking for an updated current schedule through completion of the JSF program if anyone has it.

Forum: F-35 milestones

Overview of F-35 test flights