some F35 info

[Token]

I have talked with many F35 drivers. They have had various levels of enthusiasm for the aircraft, from love to meh, but until today I never talked with one who actually bad mouthed it.

Most of the drivers I have talked with have been A and C folks, and in general, at least verbally, they have like it. Today I talked with an F35B pilot, a former F-18 guy, and he literally had nothing good to say about the B. Short legs, only one engine (that counts), too much extra weight (second engine you use less than 3% of the time, but carry around 100% of the time), too expensive, etc. I swear, it sounded like some of the posters online

I asked him what he thought of the A and C models, and he said the A was OK, because those pukes are over land and a one engine condition is not an automatic emergency.

However, of note, this opinion does appear to be the minority of people with first hand knowledge that I have had contact with.

T!

 

[buffnut453]

I have talked with many F35 drivers. They have had various levels of enthusiasm for the aircraft, from love to meh, but until today I never talked with one who actually bad mouthed it.

Most of the drivers I have talked with have been A and C folks, and in general, at least verbally, they have like it. Today I talked with an F35B pilot, a former F-18 guy, and he literally had nothing good to say about the B. Short legs, only one engine (that counts), too much extra weight (second engine you use less than 3% of the time, but carry around 100% of the time), too expensive, etc. I swear, it sounded like some of the posters online

I asked him what he thought of the A and C models, and he said the A was OK, because those pukes are over land and a one engine condition is not an automatic emergency.

However, of note, this opinion does appear to be the minority of people with first hand knowledge that I have had contact with.

T!

The issue with single-engine combat aircraft should be as prevalent to the Navy as to the Marines, so I'm not entirely sure what to make of that comment. Frankly, if Marines don't like the B-variant then they only have themselves to blame 'cos they're buying more than anyone else.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

I have talked with many F35 drivers. They have had various levels of enthusiasm for the aircraft, from love to meh, but until today I never talked with one who actually bad mouthed it.

Most of the drivers I have talked with have been A and C folks, and in general, at least verbally, they have like it. Today I talked with an F35B pilot, a former F-18 guy, and he literally had nothing good to say about the B. Short legs, only one engine (that counts), too much extra weight (second engine you use less than 3% of the time, but carry around 100% of the time), too expensive, etc. I swear, it sounded like some of the posters online

I asked him what he thought of the A and C models, and he said the A was OK, because those pukes are over land and a one engine condition is not an automatic emergency.

However, of note, this opinion does appear to be the minority of people with first hand knowledge that I have had contact with.

T!

So was he a Marine and is he active duty?

 

[GrauGeist]

Not sure why the Navy dwells on twins as being better than singles.

They operated the A-4 (and various iterations) from '56 through '03 (Marines was '98) and it wasn't an issue then.
We can also add the F-8 Crusader served from 1957 through 1976 (through '87 as PRU) and the A-7 Corsair had a good run from '65 through '93.

It seems to me that this "One if by and land and two if by sea" thing really got started in '76 when the Navy was trying to decide between the F-16 and the F-18 for it's VFAX program.

 

[Token]

So was he a Marine and is he active duty?

Yes.

T!

 

[Greyman]

Check out the moves at 3:42 and 3:52.

Is it just me or is that a lot of Gs?!

 

[Glider]

The two vs one argument always amuses me.

The USN and Marines did pretty well with the F8, A4, A7 and Harrier. The F4 needed two engines to get the required power not because of the advantages of having two engines. In fact the early F4's didn't have fire extinguishers so I doubt the additional engine would have helped much in a real life situation. This was one of the few (make that very few) advantages of the UK Spey versions as they insisted on extinguishers.
The F14 had two engines for the same reason as the F4 they needed the power not for safety reasons and the loss rate of the early F14 versions where engine problems were fairly common would imply that two engines didn't help much

I think its fair to say that the F18 is the only real example where there was a single engine alternative and they went for two engines.

 

[buffnut453]

Check out the moves at 3:42 and 3:52.

Is it just me or is that a lot of Gs?!

Same-same at 1:40. It's not just pulling a lot of g, it's also the rate at which the direction of the nose is changing. Pretty impressive IMHO, although to pull off that manoeuvre, the aircraft did seem to scrub off a lot of speed and on at least one occasion seemed close to a departure (but, then again, I'm not overly familiar with how the F-35 "looks" when it's manoeuvring).

 

[Token]

Check out the moves at 3:42 and 3:52.

Is it just me or is that a lot of Gs?!

That last turn looks like about 180'ish degrees in under 6 seconds. That is pretty sporty.

T!

 

[Torch]

View: https://youtu.be/aXhbi-aEBas

 

[Marcel]

Saw the F35 flying at Duxford last month. Quite impressive.

 

[Torch]

President Trump Blocks Sale of F-35s to Turkey, Deepens Rift in Turkish/U.S. Relations.

 

[Greyman]

Saw a good article in the 'related' section:
Why Does the Public Have Trouble Understanding the F-35? Air Force Reserve Pilots Tell Us Why the F-35A is a Powerful Force Multiplier

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Saw a good article in the 'related' section:
Why Does the Public Have Trouble Understanding the F-35? Air Force Reserve Pilots Tell Us Why the F-35A is a Powerful Force Multiplier

Excellent article! I've been trying to say this for years but many folks think modern aerial warfare is what was seen in TOPGUN

 

[Torch]

F-35 Achieves Milestones Amid Setbacks And Criticism

 

[Torch]

I love her call sign.Meet the U.S. Air Force Reserve's First Female F-35A Lightning II Pilot

 

[nuuumannn]

Having seen F-35s in the flesh for the first time this July, I can say that they look pretty neat in a display. The F-35B is a noisy beast, harking back to the days of Harriers beating up your eardrums regularly during airshow season.

RAF F-35B

1407 RIAT RAF F-35

USAF Heritage Flight F-35A and two friends.

1507 Flying Legends USAF Heritage Flight

 

[Torch]

First blood??U.S. F-35B Joint Strike Fighters Perform Their First-Ever Air Strike On Targets in Afghanistan

 

[jetcal1]

First blood??U.S. F-35B Joint Strike Fighters Perform Their First-Ever Air Strike On Targets in Afghanistan

Doesn't Israel get "first blood" bragging rights?

 

[Torch]

Doesn't Israel get "first blood" bragging rights?

LOL, forgot about Israel...Ok, US then..