Forum: General F-35 Forum

A Morning on the USS Wasp ... With BF-4 by Amy Butler at Oct/18/2011
photos and videos: Amy Butler/AWST

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

"... the Pentagon gave a group of media a firsthand look at the testing Oct. 18. BF-2 and 4 are likely to leave the ship this week and return to NAS Patuxent River, Md.

Media were transported to the ship, which circles in a 20x20 mi. box off Wallops Island, Virginia, via MV-22....

...There have been many questions from Ares readers about why the aft section of the deck where spots 7-9 is darker than the front of the deck. Ansis Kalnajs, a Navsea test director, explained that the rear portion of the deck had been poured at a later time than the front, accounting for the difference in color. Both are made of standard nonskid material used on ship decks. However, there is a small portion in spot 9 of Thermion, a newer deck material that officials are testing out on the Wasp. Kalnajs says Thermion may prove to be a better future material owing to reduced maintenance demands. The nonskid deck material now need frequent replacing, he says.

The Thermion is in the area where you see the lighter yellow centerline....

...the two aircraft have accomplished more than 60 vertical landings and STOs...

MUCHmoreATurl! Laughing

ZOOM of part of this 'Thermion lighter yellow c/l' pic below: http://sitelife.aviationweek.com/ver1.0 ... 9.Full.jpg

VIDEOS:
F-35B Short Takeoff from the USS Wasp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... u7ZUVXs6Ec
&
F-35B Vertical Landing on the USS Wasp [note deck crew especially 'chaps with chocks' movements (are they wearing asbestos booties?)] Twisted Evil

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfyYanKe ... r_embedded

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At least Dave has a sense of humour (yep Engrish spelin).... Very Happy

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U.S. Marine Corps Demonstrates F-35B at Sea By DAVE MAJUMDAR 18 Oct 2011

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i= ... &s=AIR

"...Flown by Marine Lt. Col. Fred Shenk, F-35B test aircraft BF-04 flew a series of short take-offs and vertical landings onboard the 40,000-ton warship sailing off the Virginia coast in front of a small gaggle of press that had been flown in earlier in the day....

...The team started off the flights by using the flight envelop cleared for the AV-8B Harrier as a starting point before expanding into new territory, Cordell said. From that initial envelop, the testers expanded it up to 30 knots of headwind and down to 10 knots of headwind. They also flew the jet with a 15-degree crosswind....

...Kelly added that the F-35B is easier to handle on the flight deck than he had imagined it would be. The challenge is not landing the aircraft but rather "putting the nose tire in a 1-foot-by-1-foot square box," he said....

...Cordell said that one piece of good news is that the "outflow" from the jet's exhaust while hovering is less intense than expected. "It's counterintuitive, but the jet has a less harsh environment hovering at 40 feet than it does at 100 feet," he said. Engineering models had predicted the outcome, but skeptics - Cordell included - had doubted those conclusions.

The hazard zone around the jet therefore has shrunk to about the same size as that of a Harrier, he said.

Similarly, the "outwash" on take-off is far less harsh than anticipated, Cordell said.... [Hmmm, funny that.]

...NAVSEA also used the F-35B trails onboard the Wasp to evaluate some non-skid material on one of the deck spots on the giant vessel, Kalnajs said. The new material was tested on a 90 square foot spot, said Navy Capt. Brenda Holdener, commander of the Wasp.

The rest of the flight deck is covered in standard material, however parts of it look different because it is newer, she said...."

MUCH MUCH MUCH MORE AT THE F-#%B JUMP URL...!

Interesting to know what 'takeoff weights' & WOD were in the circumstances cited below. I guess SLDinfo will elaborate soon as noted at the URL:

An Update on the F-35B Transition 10/18/2011

http://www.sldinfo.com/an-update-on-the ... ransition/

"...Today SLD participated in the media event on the USS Wasp and the continuing F-35B flight tests. The tests are going well and in coming days we will have interviews with the commanding Admiral aboard the WASP discussing the impact of the new equipment on the ARG, what we call the newly enabled ARG and with test pilots as well as an overview of the test regime from senior personnel involved in the test regime. The much reported problems with heat on the deck and other issues appear to be non-issues. Noticeably, the F-35B needs only about 50% of the WASP deck to take-off, which is a clear indication that there are many ships on which this bird can land and take-off...."

BIGPIC: http://www.sldinfo.com/wp-content/uploa ... 24x682.jpg

I'm surprised BS didn't go along. Wink

sferrin wrote:

I'm surprised BS didn't go along. Wink

I'm amazed he didn't get an invite. Oh wait. No I'm not...

Odd First Person story but I guess it does capture some atmospherics (of course I can only guess):

GOOD STO VIDEO AT THE JUMP! Laughing

F-35B Sea Trials Showcase Promising Results By Carlo Munoz : October 18, 2011

http://defense.aol.com/2011/10/18/f-35b ... g-results/

"...Like the takeoff minutes before, the landing was over in minutes. The center fan shut down almost immediately, the engine throttled back down to a dull buzz and the deck crew scrambled all around the jet -- getting it ready to do it all over again...."

I think this chap needs to spend some deck time on either a USN CVN or LHA with Harrier Ops? No? Of course the breathless description is at the URL above. You'll see what I mean when youse read it. Rolling Eyes

Aviation Week Pic O'day: [Credit: US Navy]
Original Pic here: (note deck crew running for cover)
http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/aircr ... 20wasp.JPG

F-35B hits the deck (in a good way) By Dominic Perry on October 5, 2011

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/aircr ... -good.html

"With all the bad publicity surrounding Lockheed Martin's F-35, here's a piece of good news illustrated in visual form: an F-35B successfully performing the first carrier landing of any of any JSF, touching down on the deck of the USS Wasp. All the F-35B has to do now is avoid cancellation..."

Wonder Wot the Test Equipment Weighs?

Wed May 18, 2011
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/ ... 5220110518

"...new measurement of the weight of the B-model without heavy test equipment on board -- will be significant milestones in coming months, Burbage said."

Last edited by spazsinbad on Oct 19, 2011 - 10:40 PM; edited 1 time in total

Original Pic:
http://lexleader.net/wp-content/uploads ... 34-508.jpg

BETTER HiRezPic here:
http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/ ... 34-508.jpg

[Also go here and search for 'F-35B' or 'USS Wasp' etc.]:
http://www.navy.mil/view_galleries.asp

"Two Marine Corps variants of the F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter, are secured on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) during sea trials. (U.S. Navy photo)"

spazsinbad wrote:

Wonder Wot the Test Equipment Weighs?

Wed May 18, 2011
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/ ... 5220110518

"...new measurement of the weight of the B-model without heavy test equipment on board -- will be significant milestones in coming months, Burbage said."

Good question. Does it weigh less than a typical load out?

A Bloomberg video story from the event:

Marine Strike Fighter Program Faces Budget Battle

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/78211266/

I believe that is the first photo of both BF-02 and BF-04 on the Wasp at the same time.

A good article about the tests from Navy Times:

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/10/d ... ea-101811/

---Ignore---- its the same as the DefenseNews article.

LM new video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVj4vC81Ea4

Sweet vid showing both F-35Bs operating on the deck and in the air at the same time.

Forum: General F-35 Forum

A Morning on the USS Wasp ... With BF-4 + Videos