LIGHTNING IITHE FIGHTER EVOLUTION - F-35

20

F-35 LIGHTNING II UK Lightning Force

The British connection

The UK, as the only non-US Tier 1 partner

in the F-35 programme, has nurtured strong

participation from both an industry and

operational standpoint. Having settled upon

the F-35B variant for the first tranche of UK

procurement, both industry and the joint UK

Lightning Force have worked hard to stay

at the leading edge of F-35 development.

Indeed, the UK has been there right from the

start, notably with the advance of STOVL

technology. UK test pilots Simon Hargreaves

and Justin Paines both flew the X-35 during

the competitive fly-off against the rival

Boeing X-32. BAE Systems test pilot Graham

Tomlinson then became the fourth pilot to fly

the F-35 on May 28, 2008, when he piloted

F-35A AA-1. Tomlinson went on to be at the

controls for the first flight of the first F-35B

on June 11 the same year. He was followed

by RAF test pilot Sqn Ldr Steve Long who

became the first active-duty service pilot

from the UK to fly the F-35, while BAE

Systems test pilot Peter ‘Wizzer’ Wilson was

heavily engaged in the SDD programme,

as detailed in the preceding feature.

Sqn Ldr Hugh Nichols was the first non-

test pilot or operational test pilot to train

to fly the F-35B. He is an exchange officer

with VMFAT-501 ‘Warlords’ at Beaufort and

is now an instructor pilot (IP) on the F-35B.

“I arrived at Eglin AFB in September 2013

and started with the ground school course,

which roughly entails six weeks of lectures

and around 16 simulator rides. The lectures

included details on everything from how you

interact with the touchscreen in the cockpit

right up to the more classified lectures on

stealth tactics and how to ‘operate’ the jet.

We then complete a ‘taxi ride’, which is a

fantastic opportunity to test out all the flight

gear and practise F-35 ground operations

but without the pressure of flying the jet

at the end of it. The ‘first solo’ is hugely

exciting, if not a little scary, but it is a

great testament to the training we get.”

As an experienced former Harrier pilot,

Nichols was handpicked for the prestigious

post with the ‘Warlords’. “I flew a ten-hour

syllabus with introductions to formation and

instrument flying along with some air-to-

air and air-to-ground elements. At the end

of the flying syllabus each pilot completes

an instrument check and a NATOPS [Naval

Air Training and Operating Procedures

Standardization] check in the simulator

with an evaluator on hand, but once this is

passed you become a fully certified F-35B

pilot. I stayed on at ‘501’ for my instructor

upgrade to become a fully integrated

member of the FRS [Fleet Replacement

Squadron – a US naval training unit].”

The UK ran all of its initial-cadre

pilots through the VMFAT-501 course

at Beaufort. However, the Operational

Conversion Unit (OCU), No 207 Squadron,

will assume this role from next summer.

Building a force

The UK Lighting Force has built the fleet

and trained personnel in the US and has

RAF and RN engineers

met the  rst aircraft as

they arrived. The jets

touched down at RAF

Marham in Block 3FP6.

software con guration.

Jamie Hunter