The F-35B Joint Strike Fighter STOVL

[Al Wohlstrom]

Great plane
F-35B - Taking STOVL to a New Level - Videos - AircraftOwner Online

 

[Pete K.]

Cool!

The downside - very complex aircraft.

 

[Simon]

Nice to know they have an "old guy" doing the important testing before they let the youngsters loose on it!:thumbsup:

 

[David Morton]

Looks quite young to me Simon !!

 

[domtoni]

Looks good to me. I have read a number of critiques over time that the F35 isn't any better than any other aircraft in service. The new aircraft that sets the world alight is the F22.

But someone sent me some info on the SU 30, and according to the provider, can outperform anything we have now or into the future.

 

[Mike Pass]

It looks like it won't do the Harrier trick of using the angled thrust whilst flying in normal mode to take evasive action as it has to open the top hatch to access the downward thrust. Maybe it's so competent that it won't need to take evasive action!
Cheers
Mike

 

[domtoni]

Found this on the Flanker (referenced above)

Su-30 Flanker - Video

 

[Jim Craik]

Mike, although they can not use the forward fan to manuver, the jet exaust can be vectored and is fairly effective.

 

[Jim Craik]

Domtoni,

Although the SU-30 is has great performance, and looks great at air shows, it does not appear to be very stealthy,

I think the F22 pilots call it "killing baby seals".

 

[domtoni]

Possibly, but according to one blogger against F16s, it has 9 out of 10 wins, and the F35, which has some defense publications note is no more capable than any other aircraft in the current inventory, may not be able to compete? I am not a big aircraft follower.

 

[Jim Craik]

Fortunatly, our Airforce planners are fairly savy and I would be fairly sure that if we had to go up against SU-30s' or any other fourth or fifth gereration fighters the attack would be led by F22s'.

 

[domtoni]

Radar sees the F35 as a golf ball, while the F22 is seen as metal marble. The plane was panned by this one defense website, however I have been unable to locate any of the ill press. If I find it, will put it up.

I think the plane is pretty impressive.

 

[Jim Craik]

Domtoni,

You must remember that it is in the defence industries best interest to play up the other sides abilities and play down our's. How else can they justify the huge amounts of money for their industry.

Eisenhouer warned us and he should know.

A few examples:

The missle gap: lie
The Mig 25 out performs our fighters: lie
Their missle submarines out perform ours: lie
on and on...............

 

[Chris Martino]

Guess you guys haven't seen the Sukhoi T50

YouTube - Russian Sukhoi T-50 jet challenges US Raptor stealth fighter


Chris

 

[domtoni]

Thanks Chris, I was unable to open to play this. But I see the post comes from Russia Today, the pro - Russia / anti - US (they do alot of indepth investigation into US ugliness) TV station broadcast from Moscow.

I'll bet the T50 has a log of good stealth stuff in it.

 

[Chris Martino]

First test flight in January-

 

[domtoni]

That inflight photo almost reminds me of an F104.

 

[Chris Simpson]

Surely the main point of the F35 is that it doesn't need a long runway, or any runway at all. All other modern supersonic aircraft require several thousand feet of concrete runway to take off and land. In a modern war situation the 'enemy' would try to put such airfields out of action in the knowledge that F22s and the like would then be grounded.

Chris

 

[Chris Simpson]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the shaft that connects the engine to the forward horizontal fan that supports the front of the aircraft in a STOVL situation has to take 28,000 horse power! Also the test pilot for the initial STOVL test phase was British, as is the software (produced by the British firm Quinetic) for the STOVL fly by wire system.
Anyway, a remarkable technical achievement by all concerned.

Chris