Steam catapult launches F-35C

The F-35C completed its first steam catapult launch July 27 marking another milestone toward initial ship trials in 2013. Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Launch and Recovery Equipment) Brandon Barr used a TC-13 Mod 2 test steam catapult, representative of current fleet technology, launching F-35C test aircraft CF-3 into the sky.

“It was great to be able to be a part of this milestone in the F-35C test program,” said Navy test pilot Lt. Chris Tabert.

CF-3 is the designated carrier suitability testing aircraft, assigned to the F-35 integrated test facility at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

“Our first trip here to Lakehurst went very smoothly because of the true collaboration and hard work from the integrated team,” said Tom Briggs, government air vehicle engineering manager. “We look forward to another productive visit and staying on track for initial ship trials.”

In addition to the catapult launches at varying power levels, the integrated test team will execute a test plan over three weeks to include dual-aircraft jet blast deflector testing and catapult launches using a degraded catapult configuration to measure the effects of steam ingestion on the aircraft.

The F-35C carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter is distinct from the F-35A and F-35B variants. It has larger wing surfaces and reinforced landing gear for slower catapult launch and landing approach speeds and deck impacts associated with the demanding carrier take-off and landing environment. The F-35C is undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River prior to eventual delivery to the fleet.

Source: NAVAIR

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at Lakehurst

LAKEHURST — The first F-35C Joint Strike Fighter to land at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst arrived June 25 for a round of testing required before the naval version of the multi-role aircraft can go to sea in 2013.

The test aircraft was flown by Lt. Cmdr. Eric “Magic” Buus from Patuxent Naval Air Station in Maryland, the base of the Navy’s F-35 integrated test team, according to officials with Naval Air Systems Command.

At Lakehurst, jet-blast deflector tests will be conducted to evaluate how the new aircraft performs with those sections of movable deck plate that shift the heat and blast of engine exhaust away from the aircraft carrier flight deck. The team must learn how the aircraft may be affected by vibration, acoustics, heat and ingesting hot gases, NAVAIR officials say. Plans call for shipboard testing of F-35s on aircraft carriers in 2013.

 

-app.com

F-35 JSF Makes First Air Show Appearance

The F-35C Joint Strike Fighter made its first public appearance at an air show last May 21st.

The flight commemorated 100 years of naval aviation by highlighting the future of tactical air power for the U.S. Navy.

Piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Eric “Magic” Buus, the F-35C made a single pass down the show line at the Joint Service Open House at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

The F-35C variant of the joint strike fighter is distinct from the F-35A and F-35B versions with its larger wing surfaces and reinforced landing gear for greater control in the demanding carrier take-off and landing environment.

The flyover originated from the F-35C‘s primary test site at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. and was executed in the same manner as any controlled test sortie. The aircraft, CF-2, flew within its approved flight envelope and was accompanied by an F-18 Hornet flying chase.

The F-35C is the Navy’s first stealth aircraft. The internal structure of the US Navy variant is strengthened to handle the loads associated with catapult launches and arrested landings. A larger wingspan provides increased range and improves low-speed handling characteristics for the Navy aircraft. Like the US Marine Corps variant, the US Navy variant carries a refueling probe on the right side of the forward fuselage. Range and payload are superior to legacy strike fighters. Weapon loads, cockpit layout, countermeasures, radar, and other features are common with the other variants.

Source: Air-Attack, Global Security

All grounded F-35s to resume flying

 

The Pentagon has cleared all grounded F-35s to resume flight testing after discovering the root cause behind the March 9 twin generator failures of an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) airplane.

The program office said Friday night that faulty maintenance procedures were found to have caused the in-flight failure of the engine generators of the F-35 JSF fighter.

This month, a U.S. Air Force F-35A test aircraft, numbered AF-4, suffered a failure of the generators during a test flight from Edwards Air Force Base. The test pilot was able to use the backup electrical generator to return safely to base.

The configuration of the generator on AF-4 and other, newer F-35s was different than the original installation on the first test aircraft, and the problem was traced to the newer, or alternate, configuration.

Test aircraft with the earlier configuration – three F-35As and four Marine Corps F-35Bs – were cleared on March 14 to resume flight operations.

Three other test aircraft – AF-4, BF-5 and CF-1, the first Navy F-35C - remained grounded, along with the first two low-rate initial production F-35As, while the investigation continued.

According to the program office, the investigation revealed that the maintenance procedure for the alternate engine starter/generator configuration allowed excess oil in the generator’s lubrication system.

Source: DefenseNews

Lockheed Martin Flies First Production F-35 Stealth Fighter

The first production model of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II made its inaugural flight last February 25th in preparation for delivery to the U.S. Air Force this spring. The jet will head to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to support developmental testing shortly after the Air Force takes delivery.

“The aircraft was rock-solid from takeoff to landing, and successfully completed all the tests we put it through during the flight,” said Lockheed Martin Test Pilot Bill Gigliotti. “The Air Force is getting a great jet that represents a huge leap in capability, and we’re looking forward to getting it into the hands of the service pilots in just a few more weeks.”

During the flight, the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A variant, known as AF-6, underwent basic flight maneuvering and engine tests. Test Pilot Gigliotti took off from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base at 3:05 p.m. CST and landed at 4:05 p.m. The jet will continue flight tests in Fort Worth for about a month before it is accepted by the Air Force.

The F-35A CTOL variant – designed to meet U.S. Air Force requirements – is also the primary export version of the Lightning II. The air forces of Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Norway and Israel will employ the F-35A.

Deliveries of the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variant to the U.S. Marine Corps also begin this year, while deliveries of the F-35C carrier variant to the U.S. Navy start in 2012. Seventeen F-35s have entered testing since December 2006, and have logged more than 650 flights and numerous ground tests.

- air-attack

Revised F-35 plan calls for 6 more years of testing

 

Details of the revamped F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program are emerging and showing that, despite more than nine years of work, almost six years of challenging development and testing still lie ahead for the Lockheed Martin-led project.

Both flight testing and software development have been re-planned using industry-standard productivity rates rather than the aggressive—and unachievable—assumptions on which the original program was built. This means many more sorties to re-fly flight-sciences test points and for regression testing of mission-system software changes.

The re-plan adds 2,000 flights to the program—for a total of 7,800, just 600 of which have been completed—and extends development testing to October 2016. In addition to more re-fly and regression flights, the new plan adds sorties for test-pilot training and builds in a 500-flight margin for unexpected flight-sciences and mission-system issues.

Of the 8 million lines of code on the aircraft, “we have 4 million to do, but we still have four years of development,” says Eric Branyan, deputy general manager of the F-35 program.

In F-35 parlance, Block 0.5 provides basic “aviate and navigate” capabilities, Block 1 introduces onboard sensor fusion, Block 2 integrates weapons and data links, and Block 3 provides the full capability planned for development.

Block 1 hardware began flight tests on mission-system development aircraft in April 2010, and is now the baseline through low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 4. While LRIP 1 and 2 aircraft will still be delivered with Block 0.5 functionality to begin training, this is now part of Block 1A running on the new hardware.

In addition to increasing the re¬sources for flight tests, the re-plan essentially decouples flight-sciences work on the three variants, he says. This is intended to overcome the impact of delays in testing the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (Stovl) F-35B on the smoother-running conventional-takeoff-and-landing F-35A and F-35C carrier variant.

The Joint Program Office (JPO), meanwhile, says each of the known problems with the Stovl F-35B are “readily solvable through engineering adjustments.” Among the issues being worked on are lift-fan clutch heating, thermal expansion of the lift-fan driveshaft and roll-post heating. Additionally, “selective redesign” of the lift-system doors is needed to “increase durability,” the JPO says.

The Pentagon will seek an additional $4.6 billion in its fiscal 2012 budget for the replanned program. This includes funds “to address known discrete improvements to include propulsion lift system, durability and structuring testing shortfalls, training systems, pilot-vehicle interface upgrades and others.”

- aviationweek.com