Forum: General F-35 Forum

Last edited by spazsinbad on Oct 25, 2011 - 09:14 AM; edited 1 time in total

'RainMan' said QANTAS multi-engine aircraft were the safest [my preferential 1st class ride] but I digress.

This blogger 'SMSgt Mac' is always good for a counterpunch or three: [Defense Tech more or less reposted the original Wheeler item at the top of this thread & here: http://defensetech.org/2011/10/24/more- ... he-f-35b/]

DT, Winslow Wheeler and 'Manufacturing' Problems

http://elementsofpower.blogspot.com/201 ... uring.html

QUOTE: "Stop the presses! Winslow Wheeler has discovered that the entire logistics support package for the F-35B was not prepositioned on the Wasp. Someone tell Winslow that the WASP is cruising about 80 miles from F-35B home base in Pax River and that this is NOT a supportability test. Then ask him exactly DoubleU Tee Eff is his point? I would also suggest the unattributed 'author' of this piece refer to earlier Mil.com articles that note the 2 weeks was the shortest(!) expected period expected for this round of shipboard trials and that the WASP was booked for much longer. Are 'we' now beating up programs for accomplishing tasks slightly slower than the fastest possible time?"

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@ spazsinbad.... Thanks for the info on the pop stalls. I wasn't overly concerned about it because the mass flow through the F-135 engine is so much higher then the General Electric F414-GE-400 turbofans. But that sure explains why they were so concerned with the jet deflector tests. Thumb

More info on one aspect of Wheeler's 'news' but I ain't gotno subscription to tell ye more:

JSF Airworthiness Goal Pushed Back Two Months To November Tuesday, October 25, 2011

http://defensenewsstand.com/index.php?o ... c5NzU1Lw==

"Flight training on the Joint Strike Fighter has not begun at Eglin Air Force Base, FL, because the aircraft has not yet received a military flight release, and that certification is now expected in November -- a two-month delay from the most recent expectations and 11 months later than the program's previous baseline."

Youse'll have to subscribe for more.

Meh, it still is in 2011 and hit's the goal for 2011.

SpudmanWP wrote:

Meh, it still is in 2011 and hit's the goal for 2011.

For such a complex product like stealthy, STOVL, all purpose fighter/bomber/attack jet to be off only by a matter of weeks is a miracle. The same people who are complaining about the F-35/F-22 are the same people who complained about the F-15 being too big, heavy, and gold plated to be effective; who also complained that the F-16 was hijaked away from its original intent, and for shame, had a radar installed into it that drove up weight, costs, complexity.

Really, there is no pleasing everyone, ever. If these people get their way, we'll roll back the F-35 to being something akin to the F-22 and we'll only have a silver bullet fleet that's supported by new variants of the F-15/16/18. Hell, may as well roll out what's left of the Phantoms from mothball and put them back in service!

Wheeler was right about the lift fan door actuator failure. Apparently the part that failed was an interim design, with the final design to come later.

ARES/Amy Butler
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/de ... c8caa64711

Wow, just got to that now also: ;D Info stuff about the doors as noted by 'maus92' and....

Redesigned F-35B Lift Fan Inlet Door Actuator Incoming by Amy Butler at Oct/25/2011

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

"...The ship trials took four days longer than planned owing to weather, according to Dellavedova...."
_________________________

AFAIK the next lot of trials are in 2013 according to the NAVAIR press release, not "The new design is slated for testing in 2012 (DT-2 is slated for then)" Butler quote from above story.

F-35B completes first sea trials on USS Wasp

http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fu ... mp;id=4802

"...The next sea trial, DT-2, is scheduled for 2013 after Wasp receives additional modifications for F-35B operations.""
_________

And from the 'Bs on Wasp' Amy Butler, Aviation Week, 24 Oct 2011 magazine story is some info about some of the repair issues onboard.

spazsinbad wrote:

[....Let us all toss in the towel then. It is just too difficult. Twisted Evil

For Whiskey Wagon's diatribe; http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/de ... d=blogDest

Redesigned F-35B Lift-Fan Inlet Door Actuator Incoming

Posted by Amy Butler at 10/25/2011 12:43 PM CDT

.. “Both the -0003 and -0004 actuators are cleared for flight usage, but neither are planned to be brought into full qualification,”.. Smile

With reference to the F-35C hook issue on previous page of this thread (this item partly reproduced here and elsewhere re 'test progress') and after searching for more information this is all that is available to date 27 Oct 2011.

Pentagon, Lockheed At Odds Over F-35 Fixes Oct 26, 2011 By Amy Butler

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... mp;next=10

"...Also, as of close of business on Oct. 25, the entire program has conducted 803 flights, exceeding the 749 planned and 6,287 test points against 5,796 planned.

Stevens acknowledges that a design review is ongoing to explore a new approach to the arrested landing hook for the F-35C carrier version, which has not performed well during tests...."

Since there was an issue about when (2012 or 2013 - see above) next set of F-35B / USS Wasp trials, some supporting information has come to light for a 2012 set of trials (with 2013 3rd set to follow). NB the HMDS day time is OK.

Marine Corps demonstrates F-35B at sea By Dave Majumdar - Staff writer : Oct 18, 2011

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/20 ... ea-101811/

"...Kelly said. Additionally, during daylight hours, the aircraft’s previously troublesome helmet-mounted display is now performing very well unless displaying video imagery [such as DAS night vision or FOX news Twisted Evil

], he said.

For getting off the ship, Cordell said that there are three short take-off modes that the team tested: manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic. Originally, the test team had only planned to do manual take-offs, but soon expanded the scope to include the other modes. Kelly said he had flown about a half-dozen automatic mode take-offs himself.

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.

A second set of sea trials will be done early next year [2012], Cordell said. Those trials will put the F-35B’s mission systems and weaponry to the test. The team will also test night operations at sea, he said.

Later, the F-35B will return to the sea for a third time to conduct operational testing in around the August of 2013, Cordell added.

This initial set of sea trials for the F-35B is as much about the ship as it is about the aircraft...."

MORE at the JUMP but it has been mostly repeated in other threads earlier....

From same 'Majumdar' report immediately above worth noting about the 'THERMION' issue:

"...NAVSEA also used the F-35B trials 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. Observers had questioned why portions of the Wasp’s flight deck had a different hue than other parts of the deck surface.

Non-skid materials have and continue to be a vexing problem for the Navy, breaking down after only six or seven months, Kalnajs said. He said the Navy hopes the newer material being evaluated will last for years at a time...."

Forum: General F-35 Forum

Some Suggested (and Unreported) Issues on the F-35 - Wheeler