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2015-07-04 Science & Technology
Pentagon's Vaunted F-35 Earns Lousy Review From Test Pilot In Secret Report
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Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2015-07-04 00:00|| || Front Page|| [1 views ]  Top

#1 the test plane was missing some of the F-35’s most impressive technology, such as long-range abilities that allow it to avoid dogfights to begin with

Where have I heard this before? Oh thats right, the F-4, didnt need a gun because it would never get into dogfighting range.

The pentagon princes havent any institutional memory? Old spooks like me certainly arent welcome anymore because we call them out on it. Progressivism at work in the military - counter information is treated like hostile political act instead of something to be analyzed and acted upon. Years Obama deliberate promotion of that sort of officer are rotting the armed forces from the inside.
Posted by OldSpook 2015-07-04 01:49||   2015-07-04 01:49|| Front Page Top

#2 Eisenhower warned you.
Posted by g(r)omgoru 2015-07-04 02:45||   2015-07-04 02:45|| Front Page Top

#3 For another take on this:

http://www.f-16.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=27186&sid=176101044f53d106cf9ddc0fe07fa5ec&start=30

Posted by Shipman 2015-07-04 06:51||   2015-07-04 06:51|| Front Page Top

#4 #2 often overlooked is this passage -

Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades.

In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.

Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.

The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientifictechnological elite.


The academic-technological complex has also been damaging. Bay Area Techo-oligarchs and academic climatologists to the courtesy phone.
Posted by Procopius2k 2015-07-04 08:00||   2015-07-04 08:00|| Front Page Top

#5 I think this is the sixth time I've seen this half-truth and lie infested article posted here at the 'burg alone, without reference or anything similar to all the things Axe left out in his hatchet job. For the first three days it was easier to find the corrections, but now searching on "F-25 F-16 dogfight engine power" doesn't bring an¥thing up but further spam-links of the original lies now. I didn't realize y'all would be repeating this shit ad nauseum, and didn't think I had to make .pdf's and references to endlessly repost in reaction to the endless reposting of the lies.
Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2015-07-04 10:11||   2015-07-04 10:11|| Front Page Top

#6 Thank you angry tool using snow person.
Posted by Shipman 2015-07-04 13:19||   2015-07-04 13:19|| Front Page Top

#7 Read the first post on:
http://www.f-16.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=27186&p=294491#p294491

412 TW is 412th Test Wing:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/412th_Test_Wing

mkellytx is an F-35 test pilot and full name and rank avaialble in a search.
Posted by Whonter Darling of the Bunions4601 2015-07-04 13:48||   2015-07-04 13:48|| Front Page Top

#8 Are you in particular referring to what he wrote here?

Puts things in perspective here. So, the Viper was flying right around it's corner and max instantaneous, while the F-35 was supposed to go elevated AoA and see if the control laws would prevent the plane from departing when performing elevated AoA BFM. The Viper was at a clear advantage all along, but it wasn't there to win, it was there as a visual reference to maneuver against. The whole point was to put the F-35 in a bad position and see what the control laws did. Which is exactly what the JPO said.

While the dogfighting scenario was successful in showing the ability of the F-35 to maneuver to the edge of its limits without exceeding them, and handle in a positive and predictable manner, the interpretation of the scenario results could be misleading.
Turns out the early law are biased towards departure prevention(not a bad thing early in a program), not exactly an Earth shattering discovery, and that there's plenty of margin available to improve performance, again not exactly Earth shattering. At least a sizable subset of these critics aren't old enough to remember that the first wave of FBW A/C went through similar cycle or didn't pay attention/forgot that Super Bug and Raptor did also.

Now with the critic's original argument discredited they take something else out of context...Wash, lather, repeat, the cycle continues. They're always certain their right but curiously avoid making a stand in the face of a rigorous technical argument.
Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2015-07-04 14:02||   2015-07-04 14:02|| Front Page Top

#9 I'm also trying to find a reference to the engine power thing.... I didn't know the original part would be endlessly repeated, like old-time mainstream media before the Internetz, and we needed to endlessly repeat counter-arguments.
Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2015-07-04 14:04||   2015-07-04 14:04|| Front Page Top

#10 Is this turning into the aviation equivalent of Global Worming?
Posted by Pappy 2015-07-04 15:34||   2015-07-04 15:34|| Front Page Top

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