Forum: General F-35 Forum

Pentagon expands probe of troubled components on fighter jet-sources By Andrea Shalal-Esa 01 Feb 2013

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/ ... mesticNews

"(Reuters) - The Pentagon is inspecting other components of the F-35 fighter jet in addition to the faulty fuel lines blamed for the grounding of the Marine Corps version of the warplane, two sources familiar with the program said on Friday.

Vice Admiral David Dunaway, head of Naval Air Systems Command, asked for the expanded "material audit" this week after being briefed on plans by the Pentagon's F-35 program to resume training and test flights of the F-35B, the sources said.

"There's too much at stake here," said one of the sources, who was not authorized to speak publicly....

...It was not immediately clear how long the additional inspections would take and when the B-model would be cleared to start flying again. Dunaway is responsible for approving flights of the F-35Bs used for training, while the Pentagon's F-35 program office is responsible for approving test flights.

"This is a prudent step which will help to ensure that when we're ready to return to flight we do so with confidence," said a second source, who was not authorized to speak publicly....

...U.S. military officials had already decided to have all the affected fuel lines produced by Stratoflex inspected using CT scans since problems could not be easily detected otherwise, but Dunaway decided to have other components made by the company inspected as well...."

URL has all the paragraphs.

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said a second source, who was not authorized to speak publicly....

I must be missing something here.

More anonymous commentary from the serial snot-slingers in southern Maryland.

outlaw162 wrote:

Quote:

said a second source, who was not authorized to speak publicly....

I must be missing something here.

Sounds to me like the program is going to check every line made by this company so they don't get a plane on fire or blown up because of shoddy work. Makes good sense honestly.

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Makes good sense honestly.

Agreed, flight safety is a good thing. Very Happy

I was merely wondering why someone 'who was not authorized to speak publicly', was speaking publicly.....and a purported second unauthorized speaker at that. Shocked

(edited for decorum)

The program cannot afford a high profile accident - like what happened with V-22 - at this time. The program is a fat target in the workup to sequestration. They made the right decision.

Anyways, it's always a good idea to check up on all contractors and the quality they produce.

Not every company is known for quality, best to make sure you get everything you paid for and the maximum quality for the buck.

If that involves hassle, so be it.

Have the PAX "SDD Bees" started flying again (5Feb) or are they waiting for the "All Clear" from the supplier review by the NASC? Question

neptune wrote:

Have the PAX "SDD Bees" started flying again (5Feb) or are they waiting for the "All Clear" from the supplier review by the NASC? Question

Not flying.

Territorial foul for AIR-00 or any of his minions to be talking about it anonymously in public. Official stuff should come from the JPO.

Having said that, subs with QA issues are going to get an extended 'proctology' exam. More discovery begets more examination and so on...

F-35Bs grounded after engine problem discovered LAUREN SAGE REINLIE / Daily News February 5, 2013

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/military/to ... ed-1.90485

"EGLIN AFB — The Marine variant of the F-35 fighter jet has been grounded after a flight at the base experienced an engine problem during takeoff.

Flights of the plane have been banned across the country until the problem is addressed....

...“We rarely fly aircraft where we have issues that arise during flight,” Berke said.

Aircraft maintainers evaluated the cause of the failure and reported their findings to the command staff. The planes were grounded program-wide Jan. 18.

Engineers are continuing to investigate the root cause of the problem, which may be a manufacturing defect in the fueldraulic lines.

“Once they come up with a solution, we will start flying airplanes again,” Berke said.

The incident marks the longest grounding for any variant of the F-35. The jets have been grounded four times previously, but not for more than 15 days and not once since they started flying at Eglin last year....

...The F-35 has been grounded from flight five times.

Oct 1-5, 2010. Software anomaly grounded the Air Force and Marine variants.

March 9-14, 2011. In-flight dual generator failed, but the backup electrical generator came on as designed. Air Force and Marine variants grounded.

Aug 3-18, 2011. Integrated power package failure grounded both Marine and Air Force variants from flight and suspended ground operations. Ground operations resumed Aug. 10 and flights resumed Aug. 18.

Jan. 26-Feb. 3, 2012. Parachute packing irregularity was discovered in Air Force and Marine models. Device still would have deployed, but would have been harder to steer. Aircraft cleared for flight Feb. 3 and then were fixed on an individual basis to resume flights program wide.

Jan. 18, 2013. Marine variant grounded due to problem with fueldraulic lines.

— Information provided by the 33rd Fighter Wing."

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...AIR-00 or any of his minions...

That said, don't these minions include CORPS-01 and his minions?

outlaw162 wrote:

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...AIR-00 or any of his minions...

That said, don't these minions include CORPS-01 and his minions?

Who is CORPS-01?

Must have missed it -- when did DCA go to work for VADM Dunaway? Haven't seen any stories out of school from HQMC lately either, but then again I'm not on a daily internet IV.

Forum: General F-35 Forum

F-35B grounded after fueldraulic line failure