[BITList] F-35C Carrier Problems - U.S. Navy and Royal Navy F-35 unableto get aboard ship

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Subject: F-35C Carrier Problems - U.S. Navy and Royal Navy F-35 unableto get aboard ship

Hugh

The problem does not lie with the aircraft carrier or the arrestor gear  - but with the F-35C arrestor geometry, meaning the poor location of the tail hook on the air frame , the F-35C program's engineer community [Lockheed Martin] and the dominance of “form over substance” and “a total indifference to what is real” being hallmarks of the program – “Affordability is the cornerstone of the JSF Program” being but one example.

It is highly probable that this design fault could be the last straw for the F-35C.

 
An industry expert who is a graduate Flight Test Engineer ( FTE ) of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School ( USNTPS ), Peter Goon, stated that, "Given the limited amount of suitable structure at the back end of the JSF variants, due primarily to the commonality that was being sought between the three variant designs and the fact that the STOVL F-35B JSF is the baseline design, there was always going to be high risk associated with meeting the carrier suitability requirements."

He also points to well known and well understood military specifications that address tail hook design requirements, such as MIL-A-81717C and MIL-D-8708C. 

(update: the first one should read MIL-A-18717C not MIL-A-81717C as first reported)

When asked how such things could have been missed, Peter suggested they likely weren’t, at least by the engineers, but their concerns would have just as likely been ignored. 

He said this should come as no surprise, given the level of stove-piping that had been applied to the F-35 program's engineer community and the dominance of “form over substance” and “a total indifference to what is real” being hallmarks of the program – “Affordability is the cornerstone of the JSF Program” being but one example.

It is highly probable that this design fault could be the last straw for the F-35C. The program will attempt some more rolling tests with a different hook design, but this does not address the problem of the poor location of the tail hook on the airframe.





ct


From: HUGH 
Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 9:37 AM
To: BitList 
Subject: Re: [BITList] Carrier Problems - U.S. Navy and Royal Navy F-35unableto get aboard ship
Colin,
This "critical design review" is just a late stage in a design process, one of a succession of landmarks at which the customer pays for anything he changes to what has been agreed up till then. To the designers, it's just another issue letter on the drawings. It would be most unusual for the ability of a particular aircraft to land on the deck of an aircraft carrier to be considered by the shipbuilders at any stage, unless it was brought to their attention, or if they were supplying the aircraft. Space is often provided for equipment not supplied and fitted by the shipbuilder. "For but not with" is the type of phrase used in such cases, and the shipbuilder is only responsible for, at most, an empty space with ventilation and light. What goes into the space is someone else's business in some Naval dockyard or similar. Any unusual or non-standard requirement would have to be spelled out in detail, so the need for a different type of arrester gear for an aircraft would have to have been specified early enough for it to have been incorporated.
Hugh.


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