"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
09/28/2016 at 10:30 • Filed to: planelopnik
3
11|
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
09/28/2016 at 10:30 • Filed to: planelopnik | 3
| 11 |
The drumbeat of despair over the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II has been incessant, and perhaps for good reason. Cost overruns are rampant, and concerns about whether or not the 5th generation stealth fighter will ever live up to its billing are widely expressed by military experts and armchair aviation pundits alike. However, few of those who are trumpeting disaster actually fly the F-35. If you’re interested in another, experienced (and yes, perhaps optimistic and biased) opinion on the progress of the Lightning II, give this a read. It was written by Maj. Morten “Dolby” Hanche, test pilot, and the first Norwegian to fly the F-35. He explains how flight testing and aircraft development is a process and a balancing act between what you want an aircraft to do and what it can realistically do now. The fact that it can’t do everything now is not necessarily the end of the world. Maj. Hanche now serves as an instructor pilot with the 62nd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.
!!! UNSUPPORTED LINE BREAK IN HEADER !!!
X37.9XXS
> ttyymmnn
09/28/2016 at 10:38 |
|
Kampflybloggen (The Combat Aircraft Blog) is the official blog of the Norwegian F-35 Program Office within the Norwegian Ministry of Defence.
No pressure here, truth reigns supreme
LongbowMkII
> ttyymmnn
09/28/2016 at 10:41 |
|
$$$$
That’s the disaster. If it comes to extensive war we will be basically unable to use these. Can’t build them fast enough and can’t train pilots fast enough to fly them.
|
ttyymmnn
> X37.9XXS
09/28/2016 at 10:41 |
|
Like I said, “perhaps optimistic and biased.” Still, it makes for a good read from the test pilot’s perspective. I have high hopes that the F-35 will become a very good airplane. One day. Do some reading on the Harrier. Everybody wanted to cancel that crazy plane because its test program was long and difficult, but look where we are today. I would say the same about the Osprey.
|
ttyymmnn
> LongbowMkII
09/28/2016 at 10:43 |
|
Haven’t you seen Independence Day ? If we can train farmers and crop dusters to fly F/A-18s in one night, we can train anybody to fly the F-35 because more computers.
KatzManDu
> ttyymmnn
09/28/2016 at 10:54 |
|
The V-22 Osprey is proof that if you throw enough cash and time at a government airplane program you will eventually get something that works and kicks ass. I hope the F-35 turns around sooner rather than later.
|
ttyymmnn
> KatzManDu
09/28/2016 at 11:08 |
|
I just wrote about the LTV XC-142, an early attempt at an aircraft that does exactly what the V-22 does. The XC-142 was ultimately a failure because the technology just wasn’t there yet. So, in a way, the V-22 is the result of 25 years of development. The F-35 is an extremely ambitious aircraft, and it is meant to have capabilities beyond anything we’ve tried before. Of course there will be difficulties. But it won’t be enough to just keep cranking out F-16s when Russia and China are also pushing the envelope. IMO, the great mistake was halting production of the F-22. But do you remember how everyone said it too was a disaster? A waste of money? It took time to get it right, and they stopped building them right about the time they started getting (relatively) cheap.
For Sweden
> ttyymmnn
09/28/2016 at 11:11 |
|
Somewhere, Robert McNamara smiles.
facw
> ttyymmnn
09/28/2016 at 14:35 |
|
Yep, many of the same criticisms were going around about the F-22 (though I don’t think anyone denied that the F-22 was extremely capable in the air superiority role, just that it was expensive, late, not multi-role capable, overkill for its intended role, and still had a variety of flaws that needed to be worked out).
The price debate was severely warped as well by the fact many people chose to amortize prior development costs across all aircraft, rather than treating them as sunk costs. This mean that when you half the number orders, the per plane price suddenly looks much higher (even though the flyaway cost was basically unchanged), which made cutting orders even further seem important. I think this clearly influences current Air Force thinking, where they are willing to sacrifice anything else in order to make sure F-35 orders aren’t cut, which might create the same death spiral.
|
facw
> LongbowMkII
09/28/2016 at 14:42 |
|
That’s going to be true of F-16 too. Yeah they are cheaper, but we’d be limited in what we can produce, and there’s no reason to believe it’s any harder to train pilots for the F-35 than for other modern single-seat fighters, if anything automation may make it easier.
We’re extremely unlikely to ever be cranking out aircraft like in WWII modern aircraft (even 4th gen fighters) are just too complicated to just repurpose auto plants and the like. In the event of major war, we’d be scouring the boneyard instead for aircraft that could be reactivated. Luckily the US is by far the world’s largest airpower, so it would be hard for anyone to get the upper hand against us.
|
facw
> ttyymmnn
09/28/2016 at 14:47 |
|
Yep, the F-35 program is mess, probably enough of one that it should have been terminated years ago (and should be held against Lockheed every time they bid to be prime contractor on something), but that doesn’t mean the resulting aircraft is bad, just that we paid too much and took to long to get here. There’s lots of reasons to believe it will actually be a highly competent aircraft.
|
ttyymmnn
> facw
09/28/2016 at 15:06 |
|
I read an interesting interview with AF General Michael Hostage about the future of the F-22, F-35 and A-10. He talks a lot about the “battlefield cloud” and how the F-35 will be part of an overarching electronic picture of the battle space. The A-10, as good as it is, can’t connect. And he needs the F-22, because it’s the only interconnected air superiority fighter he’s got, and even then it will need massive computer upgrades to stay current. But that’s the point. The F-22 and F-35 will be upgradeable, while 3rd and 4th generation fighters will not be. So he plans to fight tooth and nail for 1,700+ F-35s, and is willing to let the A-10 go to the boneyard. It’s really a fascinating juggling act of funds and capabilities. I don’t envy him his job.