via Don Bacon....
The USAF is good, but NAVAIR is better. I can't see the F-35B/C continuing to fly if this is engine related.
I expect to see the entire fleet grounded in 24 hours.
UPDATE!
ELP Blog is reporting the following (subscribe to his page for the best info on this incident)...
Today, Jun 25"We found additional evidence and information in the initial safety investigation to decide to continue with the suspension of [F-35A (?)] flights,” said Air Force Lt. Hope CroninThis is getting juicy.
The USAF is good, but NAVAIR is better. I can't see the F-35B/C continuing to fly if this is engine related.
I expect to see the entire fleet grounded in 24 hours.
UPDATE!
ELP Blog is reporting the following (subscribe to his page for the best info on this incident)...
Having seen how the aircraft mishap process actually works (multiple times), this news from an F-35 fan-based source states that the mishap aircraft is still where it ended its take-off roll (this changed with one refresh of the browser page a minute after I read it, see below).... that F-35 flying won't continue until the known cause of the fire appears and is dealt with.“We will resume flying once we know more about the cause of the F-35A fire that occurred at Eglin AFB earlier this week,” Capt. Richard Ulsh, a spokesman for Marine aviation, said in an email.
Interesting how the C is not mentioned. Grounding the A would be a very USAF-like response. No one wants to risk their career on another mishap until things are known.
The F-35A struck by fire as it took off from Eglin Air Force Base has been secured and is under armed guard in a secure hanger and the Air Force and Marines are not flying their versions of the Joint Strike Fighter program until they know more about the fire’s causes.I expected as much....like I said earlier, Amos and Lockheed Martin execs might be pushing to continue as normal but the pros in NAVAIR would be crucified by the flight community if they did. We're looking at a defining moment for the program. I really believe that corners were cut and safety margins pushed to get the plane into service. The idea was to get the plane bought and then fix it once it was in service. This will put the brakes on those plans and now we can expect it to get the scrutiny it deserved. Even better? They won't be able to ramp up production so it will remain unaffordable. This plane is dead...they just don't want to admit it.
A bad engine can be swapped with an improved design fairly easily. But if this ends up being a structural design issue with the fuel tanks/lines or hydrolics... Then we would suddenly have 100+ turkeys that may never see the air again. At that point, it's all over.
ReplyDeletethe continued grounding points to something systemic. whether its a design flaw in the engine or some other system is irrelevant. what is important is that this turkey is flying to the UK and its probably unsafe.
DeleteYeah, the UK flights absolutely shouldn't happen now. But the source of the problem will determine how 'fixable' it is.
DeleteBad engine or pump? Replace it with a new design. – program limps on
Bad avionics? Get the software guys on it. – program limps on
Something about the airframe or internal layout is inherently flawed, making fires unavoidable after X flights? That’s why you don’t build 100+ prototypes. – Program canceled.
I think it's almost time to walk away from the F-35 and go to the alternatives and back up
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see Boeing's entry reconsidered. With a new V-Tail prototype.
DeleteLM should have lost the race when they went over-budget on the X-35. If they couldn't control costs on the prototype, why should they be expected to control them on the production planes? Surprise! They didn't.
We should have walked away from the F-35 when the cost started to creep up. The Super Hornet, Advanced Super Hornet, Super Hornet International road map, Block 60 F-16 and even the F-15 Silent eagle are looking more and more viable as an alternative to the F-35.
DeleteDeveloping an F-15 'S' with moderate stealth, plus thrust vectoring, would seem pretty doable to me. Re-shape the body a bit to align surfaces, re-cover in composite RA materials, and put the same thrust vectoring system on it that the F22 has. Leave some room/weight for later upgrades, make sure current F-15 pods/missiles/tanks fit, and you're done.
DeleteUpgraded VTOL could be handled by the Boeing X-35 entry. Boeing has already proven that they can stick to a budget and a development schedule. Unlike Lockheed Martin.
Long grounding would show one reason why it's not very wise to build and operate 100 prototypes. Maintanance and others will get their pay, fly or not.
ReplyDeleteIf something needs to be re-designed, re-tested and re-installed, it will be months not weeks.
Compare to Gripen E program, one test mule and 3 prototypes.
The hole idea of 5th Gen Stealth fighters should be scrapped, it doesn't work,
ReplyDeletethe L-Band radars and the improvement in sensors fusion and advanced algorithms is reason enough to continue with the Navy way of dealing with advanced adversaries in contested areas.
The Super Hornets and Growlers are already there with Stand off weapons, decoys, MALDS, Jammers, and in the near future X-47B type drones to increase the punch and sensors net-centric stations. The Swedish, abd the French are taking the same path already.
http://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/dassault-aviation/press/press-kits/ucav-world-first-dassault-aviation/
Stealth is just air-camo. Fine to have, and certainly useful, but not at the expense of performance.
DeleteThat's why I prefer the level of Stealth of the Super Hornet. Mike Gibbons talks about "Effective Stealth" and very Survivable airplane rather than very low observable Stealth airplane.
ReplyDeleteEffective non in the sense of avoid any radar emission but to complete any mission with success and safely. But lately I found a PDF from Boeing that define the Super Hornet as Low Observable Stealth Fighter. Probably they are just tired of the B.S. from L.Martin.
http://www.boeing.com/assets/pdf/defense-space/military/fa18ef/docs/EF_product.pdf
If you compare the Russian & US development strategies... US Stealth planes become obsolete with the next breakthrough in radar and/or signal processing. While the newer Russian planes will always be faster and more maneuverable. Making them useful even with their limited stealth negated.
DeleteExactly, that's why some time ago I made a video with my idea of what could be a perfect combination of a post stealth era airforce, just in the air to air role (I shold include the Growler too) but that day I was inspirated and I compose the video in one single day testing my super duper hi speed nee internet service.
ReplyDeletewww.youtube.com/watch?v=t0C6OfKKQy0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I respectfully suggest that we don't know what caused this mishap yet. Could be things not related to the trouble the program has experienced. I think a wait-and-see attitude is best. And, it makes sense that flying would not continue after a mishap like this until they know what they are dealing with.
ReplyDelete