Trip report on F-35 plant tour: I was very impressed with the F-35 line. Awesome. I saw the 100th aircraft in production. It was on gear and was having avionics installed. Also saw aircraft destined for Australia and Italy. Good to see given how partner countries are pushing back orders or getting week kneed about the cost and delays. Interestingly, they build up the aircraft on it's wing tip. They are the only production line to ever do that. It doesn't get flipped upright until landing gear and engine installation. While it is on it's wing tip production is on two "floors", actually permanent open stands or catwalks. For wing build up there are two lines. One for left wing one for right. The line pulses, as they call it, every 15 days or so. That is the assembly line moves at a glacial pace. Right now they produce 4 aircraft a month. Full rate is about 15. The line guys are already bitching claiming that will never happen because it is too much work (can you say "union"). Each aircraft is marked so you can tell what version A/B/C , country it is going to and what production number it is. Some cool things, I saw a several autoclaves the largest was at least 25 feet in diameter, awesome. Closest thing to automated production were basically giant CNC machines that drilled and cut composite parts. When they are running the room that houses them must be evacuated because the speed they operate at would cause catastrophic damage if something broke or came loose. About 70% of the aircraft is made by other companies and countries. Given the current "just in time" supply chain that is in vogue, if a major part is broken or is delivered inoperative or out of specs, work could stop until a new one is shipped in. There are zero spares for many parts. For parts supplied by foreign countries that could be weeks. They actually have a hangar queen they cannibalize if necessary to keep things moving. Woe be the employee that breaks one of those parts. No wait...union, never mind. They are currently pursuing the top level of EPA/OSHA certification. The building is so big that certain chemicals used in production that normally have to be used out doors for proper ventilation can be used on the line due to the volume under roof. All the tooling, fixtures, jigs, molds, etc are actually owned by the government. Lockheed just purchased or built them for Uncle. If they shut down production nearly everything in the building would be shipped out to storage. It would be practically empty. If the government is dissatisfied with Lockheed the feds can take the means of manufacture and send it to any other company they want to build the "Lockheed" F-35.
Also under production in Ft Worth are Japanese F-2s. Think Rhino version of the F-16. The Japanese lost something like an entire squadron in the Tsunami and don't have the capability to build more at this time or at least fast enough. So Lockheed is building a few to replace losses. Also a couple new F-16s roll out every month for foreign militaries.
We went out to the bone yard to see the A-12 and it was gone. I was really disappointed. My son was surprised as he saw it very recently. Today he found out it was removed for restoration and placement at FT Worth Veteran's Memorial Park. Soon we will all be able to view it less the bag. Something else cool out at the bone yard was a F-22 with lift fan and VMA squadron markings. Never heard about that pipe dream.
