I wonder if they will develop quick change horizontal stabs when they get burned up?
Even fully loaded, the F-35’s performance doesn’t change from its unencumbered configuration, he said.
Sounds great, but the fuzzy weight margins in all variants (operational empty weight anyone???) are paper thin.
But hey, we need a jet certified as safe for training pilots before that happens.
7 comments:
“What is different is that this airplane has accelerational characteristics with a combat load that no other airplane has, because we carry a combat load internally,” Burbage said, the F-22 Raptor notwithstanding.
“I can’t even explain the adrenaline rush you get when you light the afterburner on that thing,” Smith said. “The acceleration is much better than an F-16.”
Sounds promising for a change.
First, Burbage admits that the SLUF Mk II is *gasp* subject to the laws of physics, and then immediately follows with this curious remark:
"Even fully loaded, the F-35’s performance doesn’t change from its unencumbered configuration"
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Mr Newton would beg to differ...
Newton's Second law: The acceleration a of a body is parallel and directly proportional to the net force F and inversely proportional to the mass m, i.e., F = ma.
Oh well, at least he isn't confused about the facts that it's fat and can't supercruise. That's gonna break some fanboy hearts...
The difference is there is no change in drag. The weight of internal weapons makes no appreciable difference in the F-35 compared to the same load with external tanks on an F-16 or F-18.
Love to see the numbers on an F-15 Silent Eagle with conformal weapons bays. Near zero drag with 4 amraams mounted internally. With "clean" flight plus those powerful PW/GE engines, the transonic acceleration must be incredible.
not to mention the fuel burn
He's still "fully loaded" with it, because he knows full well that acceleration performance is not solely determined by aero drag. An F-35 at, or near, MTOW cannot possibly accelerate at nearly the same rate as a lightly loaded one. Mass matters. A lot.
US fighters, esp now with the Middle Eastern adventurism winding down, do not spend most of their flying careers loaded down with draggy, fuel-guzzling ordnance, and the inescapable extra drag burden that the F-35 incurs due to its design, will necessarily translate into much higher fuel bills for the USAF tacair fleet. Esp as it is so much larger than the F-16 it is replacing. Combined with ever-escalating oil prices, and reduced budgets, this must inevitably result in severely reduced flight hours for AF pilots. Actual flying experience also matters a lot.
BTW, unlike the F-35, 'legacy' fighters can instantly dump their excess drag and weight if the situation suddenly calls for rapid acceleration and manouvers.
Whether that will be an actual limitation of the F-35 will only be revealed with access to its EM diagram.
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