F-35B (Joint Strike Fighter) STOVL transforming video and info

Back in 2008 the air station in Beaufort had to rip up the airfield to accommodate the F35 training squadron based there.

The thrusters were melting the tarmac. It was pretty cool

Originally posted by MystikMushroom
HOLY CRAP!

That almost doesn't look real. That looks like a J.J. Abrams or Michael Bay movie scene!

It reminds me of a real-life Transformer.

I must own one for my daily commute!

Haha. Me too. My first thought was, "Hmmm.....Decepticon?"

Indeed. Its a great rip off of the Yak-141

Well, that makes sense, as Lockheed partnered with Yakovlev when the CIS could no longer fund it. Strange but true. So, nothing was "ripped off", but simply taken much further. Besides, about time we did it to them for a change (MiG-29?). Although, the Russians were kind enough to give us stealth too (they simply didn't know what they had when their man came up with it).

Worth of the aircraft rests in its survivablility, its attack potential, and its pilots.
Compare it with many other contemporary aircraft, and its not all that much ahead of the competition in performance.....all round....
Remains to be seen wether the best can fly it into history or ignominy.:
Ya gotta love the dead stick hover though.....as he pauses to light a smoke before contining descent.....

There are people on this thread who are far more qualified to make an assessment of the practicalities of the use of this aircraft. However, I have to say that I for one am no where near grown up enough, at my grand age of 28, to fail to be impressed by the look of the thing, and the way the parts move in synchronised harmony.

That said, even my untrained eye can see that if that top panel were to open due to a failiure in the control system, the sudden aerodynamic instability which would result would surely be catastrophic. Either the panel would come flying off, or the entire damned thing would just rip itself to bits, surely?

That said.... damn thats a funky looking aircraft!

Looks cool, doesn't seem necessary or practical. I have the same thought on almost ALL tech....the more moving parts you have the higher the failure rate. I have absolutely zero knowledge when it comes to these things, but what would happen if a bird got sucked into that top opening hatch when it was open while they were doing a hover take off or landing? Guessing they have thought of that though...probably like a high speed shredder for birds I am guessing.

Like I already said though....more moving parts = more points to fail.

Great videos ... appreciated ! This airplane is thrilling to watch on my pc, it must be awe inspiring to see it work in real.

But I share the same concerns as others. It just seems too complex a design with too many bits to fail. UK is buying this for their new navy aircraft carriers, their navy often works in difficult environments and I just wonder if this airplane is up to being rough handled.

i really love vtol, it takes out the need for a runway, imagine in a shtf scenario a few freedom fighters get these, pretty easy to hide too. i would like to see more civilian vtol aircraft too.

The test program at Pax River performed the first F-35B vertical take off on May 10th. The aircraft won't be able to actually use a vertical take off for anything but airshow demonstrations, and wowing people, but the test proved that it can be done successfully.

Figured I'd throw this in here, since it involves a "transformation". Pax River has finally released video of the first vertical take off by BF-01. Vertical take off is a cool feature to have, but only useful for moving from one airfield to another, as they can only take off with under 5,000 pounds of fuel, which isn't much. The Harrier has the same problem.

Great video. Looks impressive in the desert sunshine.

How will that airplane perform off a carrier in the Winter in the North Atlantic, though ?

The British navy pilots are giving the F35B a good review :-

Speaking at Eglin Air Force Base, Lt Cdr Tidball – who has 1,300 hours behind him in the cockpit of Harriers, followed by time flying the American F-18 Super Hornet – says the F35 is “a great aircraft to fly”. He continued: “It’s extremely responsive, it’s got a lot of thrust and the fly-by-wire control system makes the aircraft simple to fly. “My background is the Sea Harrier – a pilot’s aeroplane, a stick and rudder type aircraft. This takes away that sort of demand and frees up the ability of the pilot to operate the mission systems and sensors so that he can deploy the aircraft operationally, effectively.” The small British team are based with VMFAT 501 – Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, known as the Warlords, who were formed specially in 2010 to bring the F35 into service with the US Marine Corps.

Navy News (UK)

This will probably be a huge force multiplier for the US Navy because they no longer need longer runways and should be able to launch these from Marine Heli carriers which is kinda scary

reply to post by gx1996


The US Navy has a conventional carrier variant. F-35C. It has strengthened structure and a bigger wing. No lift fan. I cant see the Navy wanting the F-35B.

The US Marines are getting F-35B it to replace their AV-8B. Unsure if it replaces the Marine F-18s as well.

Its a sweet looking bird, I think these are a great plane to add to the arsenal. The VTOL might be lacking due to weight restrictions in the fuel, for missions. but still a cool plane

Gazrok
I posted this on another thread, but it's pretty damn cool to watch, so reposting here for any to enjoy...

This is the carrier variant of the JSF, and really shows some major advances in VTOL technology.

Skip to about 30 seconds in to get to the takeoff.

This one also, has a lot of info

Does it still melt the concrete that it takes off from?

reply to post by D_Mason


No because it won't take off vertically. Vertical takeoff is pretty but useless in the real world.

reply to post by Zaphod58


So does the USMC expect to use short (but not zero) take off in practice?

reply to post by mbkennel


They'll use it for shipboard operations off the Wasps, and eventually the America. They still will use the vertical landing, but you can't take off with any kind of weight to be useful.