A_T_I_2015_04_

AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COMAPRIL 2015 |^61

F-35 latest developments z

is a real feat of engineering; it’s been a
very surreal experience to walk from
normal Florida weather into the hangar
where it’s like the Arctic and test the
F-35. We’ll complete our testing at the
end of March 2015 and I’m pleased to
say that the findings have been very
positive to date.”

ONBOARD TRIALS
While some of their teammates were in
Florida, an ITF detachment traveled to
Naval Air Station North Island in
Coronado, California, to board the USS
Nimitz (CVN 68) in November 2014.
Led by Cdr Wilson and Thomas Briggs,
the ITF’s lead flight test engineer for
DT-I, their test objective was to
conduct a three-week initial shipboard
developmental test (DT-I) trial of the
F-35C Lightning II, the carrier variant
of the Joint Strike Fighter ( JSF).
During DT-I, F-35C test pilots and
engineers tested both the suitability
and integration of the aircraft with
carrier air and deck operations in an
at-sea environment. The F-35C
demonstrated exceptional performance
both in the air and on the flight deck,
accelerating the team’s progress
through the DT-I schedule and
achieving 100% of the threshold test
points three days early. Test pilots and
engineers credited the F-35C’s Delta
Flight Path (DFP) technology with
significantly reducing pilot workload
during the approach to the carrier,
increasing safety margins during
carrier approaches and reducing
touchdown dispersion.
“The engineers responsible for the
aircraft’s control laws did a phenomenal

F-35B CLIMATIC TEST

15°C Ambient temperature of the chamber

48.8°C Max. hot soak

-6.7°C First cold weather engine run

-40°C Max. cold soak

10°C Ambient temperature at which all ice on the aircraft melts

33

The number

of flights

during the

F-35C’s initial

shipboard

trials (DT-I)

0

Unintentional

bolters

(unarrested

landing)

124

Catapult

launches and

arrested

landings

INTERNATIONAL EFFORT

The F-35 Lightning II is a joint,

multinational acquisition intended

to develop and field an affordable,

highly common family of next-

generation strike fighter aircraft for

the US Air Force, Navy, Marine

Corps, and eight international

partners. The single-seat, single-

engine, stealthy strike fighter will

incorporate low-observable

(stealth) technologies, defensive

avionics, advanced sensor fusion,

and internal and external weapons.

It will also have an advanced

prognostic maintenance capability

to deliver optimum international

security via integrated coalition

operations to the UK, Italy, the

Netherlands, Turkey, Canada,

Australia, Denmark and Norway;

and three Foreign Military Sales

(FMS) countries – Japan, Israel

and South Korea.

The F-35A conventional take-off

and landing variant will be a

multirole, stealthy strike aircraft

replacement for the Air Force’s F-16

Falcon and the A-10 Thunderbolt II

aircraft, complementing the F-22A

Raptor. The F-35B short take-off

and vertical landing variant will be a

multirole stealthy strike aircraft to

replace the Marine Corps’ F/A-

18C/D Hornet and AV-8B Harrier

aircraft. The carrier-suitable

variant, the F-35C, will provide the

US Navy department with a

multirole, stealthy strike aircraft to

complement the F/A-18 E/F Super

Hornet. Lockheed Martin is the

aircraft contractor and Pratt &

Whitney is the engine contractor.

job designing this aircraft from the

pilot’s perspective,” Wilson explains.

“The control schemes of the F-35C

provide a tool for the below-average

ball flyer to compete for top hook.”

“My major takeaway was that the

F-35C is very good at flying behind the

ship,” notes Lt Cdr Ted Dyckman, a

VX-23 test pilot at the ITF. “Any

deviation that someone gets themselves

into, they can correct fairly quickly

and accurately. In fact, it’s a three-wire

machine,” he added, referring to the

optimal arresting wire aboard an

aircraft carrier.

The DFP capability allowed for

124 arrested landings with zero

unintentional hook-down missed

attempts to catch an arresting wire on

the flight deck, otherwise known as

‘bolters’. (Two hook-down intentional

bolters were conducted as part of the

DT-I test plan.)

“The flight control system is

precise, stable and responsive, and

provides carefree handling in all flight

regimes,” says Cdr Christian Sewell,

the VX-23 F-35 operational test liaison

officer/ITF operations officer. “We’ve

tested right up to the edge of the

envelope and the aircraft handles

amazingly. In general, the pilot

workload required to fly the F-35

is less when compared with legacy

aircraft, which allows the pilot to

focus on the operational mission.”

TAILHOOK DESIGN

The three-wire landings during DT-I

also demonstrated the successful

redesign of the F-35C’s tailhook and

supporting structural interfaces. The

joint contractor and government team

consisted of engineers from NAVAIR’s

Systems Engineering, Air Vehicle

ABOVE: The F-35C

Lightning II carrier

variant conducted

its first carrier-

based night

flight operations

aboard a US Navy

aircraft carrier in

November 2014

BELOW: Flight 328

of aircraft BF-02

returns to base at

Pax River