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F-35B/C Lightning II (Joint Strike Fighter)

HeyJoe

HeyJoe

Fly Navy! ...or USMC
None
Super Moderator
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Now, that's what I call Stealthy!

You write caption....my suggestion:

"If it wasn't for the landing gear, I;d never know there's and airplane sitting over my head. Now, that's what I call steathly!"

web_091218-N-5549O-103.jpg


091218-N-5549O-103 FORT WORTH, Texas (Dec. 5, 2009) Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), the Honorable Ray Mabus, receives a tour of the production line of the U.S. Navy's first-ever stealth fighter, the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II and the U.S. Marine Corp's STOVL F-35B, at Lockheed Martin's Forth Worth plant. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kevin S. O'Brien/Released)
 
Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
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Super Moderator
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heyjoe said:
...the U.S. Navy's first-ever stealth fighter, the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II...
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I'm more curious as to exactly how stealthy a plane has to be to be considered a "stealth fighter". I know it's not like an official designation or anything...but pretty much every 5th-Gen fighter or strike-fighter has a reduced-RCS design to some degree.
 
Junkball

Junkball

"I believe in ammunition"
pilot
Uncle Fester said:
I'm more curious as to exactly how stealthy a plane has to be to be considered a "stealth fighter". I know it's not like an official designation or anything...but pretty much every 5th-Gen fighter or strike-fighter has a reduced-RCS design to some degree.
Click to expand...

I don't think there is a formalized definition for "stealth fighter" and the term isn't really limited to true stealth designs. I know the French have marketed the Rafale as a stealth fighter, while we would probably not recognize it as such. This article has some interesting background on how the Russians came up with definitions of fighter aircraft generations.
 
Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
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Super Moderator
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The guys I know who've flown F-16's at Fallon say it's not a tough transition to make, and most prefer it to a center stick.
 
Morgan81

Morgan81

It's not my lawn. It's OUR lawn.
pilot
Contributor
If the ergonomics are the same as the sim at Tailhook, it felt better then a center stick. Granted it was a portable sim, but it was very comfortable due to the arm rests. I didn't feel there would be much of a transition period, but I wasn't trying to write down holding instructions with my left hand at night in the goo either.
 
A4sForever

A4sForever

BTDT OLD GUY
pilot
Contributor
Flying Toaster said:
What are thoughts on the moving from a center stick to a side stick?

Anyone flown both?
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I always flew w/ my right hand & stick in the USN w/ few minor exceptions (obviously) and a RH 'yoke' in the early years in the airlines -- I thought I'd DIE when it was time to 'switch' and move to the left seat/left hand flying and work the power w/ the right hand 'for real' ... :eek:

Here's a secret: you don't die ... in fact, it was a very, very modest transition. The only thing that initially 'bothered' me when switching to the left seat was how 'close' the left side of the glass now seemed to my head ... again, you soon forgot about it. The human body has an amazing ability to 'learn', adapt, and overcome.

After flying most of my hours w/a stick/yoke, I got a little sidestick controller late in my career ... again, no biggie. The 'feel' is almost always artificially generated, anyway, so it's just a matter of whether you can learn how to walk, talk, (fly), and chew gum at the same time ... the answer is usually --- YES. :)

In the USN ... without being conscious of it, I usually 'rested' my right arm/elbow on the LPA/Mk-3C/or survival vest, thus generating a poor-man's equivalent of a 'rest' ala sidestick controller ...

In the airlines ... I usually kept my armrests in the DOWN position (many guys didn't), thus once again providing a rough equivalent of a 'rest' for my flyin' hand, no matter which side it was on at the time ... right or left.

Those flying idiosyncrasies/characteristics eventually became 'habits' that just felt more comfortable to me and seemed to provide a smaller moment arm than some of the guys I saw flailing around w/ assholes & elbows while trying to 'finesse' a particular flight evolution.

At the controls of an aircraft: smaller movements + less effort = more finesse.

Bottom line: left, right, stick, yoke, cyclic, collective, sidestick ... if you're an Aviator, it doesn't matter. In the cockpit -- you're at home. :)
 
scoolbubba

scoolbubba

Brett327 gargles ballsacks
pilot
Contributor
A4sForever said:
Here's a secret: you don't die ... in fact, it was a very, very modest transition. The only thing that initially 'bothered' me when switching to the left seat was how 'close' the left side of the glass now seemed [/B]to my head ... again, you soon forgot about it. The human body has an amazing ability to 'learn', adapt, and overcome. [/B]
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Truth. Everytime I sit right seat (most of my rides have been left seat), I feel cramped on my right side, even though I KNOW it's the same amount of room.
 
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