Fighter Sweep
  • Home
  • Military Aviation
  • Air Force
  • Navy
  • Spec Ops
  • Expert Analysis
  • Careers
  • Photos
Home Previous Post Next Post
Follow @fightersweep

From The Cockpit: F-35 Lightning II Demonstrator

Scott Wolff 5 Comments Air Force

I am often amazed at my timing–good or bad. Today I was definitely in the right place at the right time and I just had to share the experience with you all. In an effort to protect the innocent, I won’t say where I was or who I was with, by I am constantly humbled by the quality of the men and women I have the chance to interact with in my travels, as well as the friendships I have formed over the years of doing this.

So today, my timing was impeccable. Passing through, I called up a friend and asked if he wanted to meet up since I was in the neighborhood. After a short discussion, I soon found myself walking up to the Lockheed-Martin F-35 Lightning II cockpit demonstrator–the traveling roadshow used to drum up support for the program, as well as to educate as to the TLL (Twin-Tailed Lightning)’s projected capabilities once it becomes operational.

While I am a pilot, I haven’t flown any fifth-generation aircraft, and I was eager to hop in and get a feel for the F-35. I have several acquaintances who fly this airplane and it was a great opportunity to add to my own personal experience base, which allows me to ask more educated questions about what they deal with in the struggle to bring this airplane to maturity.

The F-35B Lightning II is very easy to land aboard an aircraft carrier or amphibious assault ship.

The F-35B Lightning II is very easy to land aboard an aircraft carrier or amphibious assault ship.

My initial assessment is this: the aircraft was designed to increase the situational awareness of the pilot and streamline the handling of massive amounts of data being collected by the sensors–which are very formidable. I honestly found it a little overwhelming at first, but the longer I flew the aircraft, the easier it became to navigate the various systems.

The airplane is very easy to fly, and very responsive to the pilot’s control inputs. In a short amount of time, I was performing conventional takeoffs and landings, and also had the opportunity to land the B-model on a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship, utilizing the jet’s STOVL capability.

Once we got past some of the basics of airmanship, it was time to go to work on both air-to-air and air-to-ground threats. I don’t want to dig too much into capabilities, but suffice it to say that, once the bugs are worked out and this is a mature weapons system, it will be a very formidable platform, based on the avionics and sensor fusion alone. As for the low-observable characteristics and performance parameters? I’m going to leave those topics alone.

All in all, it was an hour of sim time in a new airplane, and I am very grateful for the opportunity! I had an absolute blast, and my thanks to the men who made it possible.

About the Author

Scott Wolff is an accomplished writer and renowned aviation photojournalist. He has held the position of Managing Editor for a print flying lifestyle magazine, and is the Host and Editor for FighterSweep. Scott's area of expertise is military flight operations, drawing on ten years of experience working extensively with all branches of the armed forces. He holds an FAA pilot certificate, the culmination of a life-long passion for flying airplanes. Scott has received military altitude chamber training, emergency egress training, and has logged time in a variety of civilian and military aircraft. He is also a member of the International Society of Aviation Photographers and Nikon Professional Services.

Related Posts

  • Latest F-35 Problem: Hot Fuel? (Update)Latest F-35 Problem: Hot Fuel? (Update)
  • First F-35A Lightning II Class BeginsFirst F-35A Lightning II Class Begins
  • Milestone 500 Sorties for F-35 at Nellis AFB!!!Milestone 500 Sorties for F-35 at Nellis AFB!!!
  • USAFWS Receives Its First F-35USAFWS Receives Its First F-35
  • F-35 JPO To Close At McCain’s Direction?F-35 JPO To Close At McCain’s Direction?

Find Us on Facebook

FighterSweep.com

Sign Up
for the Newsletter

What’s Hot

  • Whistling Death: How The Corsair Got Its Nickname
    August 30, 2019

    Whistling Death: How the Corsair got its nickname

  • August 26, 2019

    U.S. Air Force Weapons School (Part 1)

  • blue-angels-reporter-blacks-out-passes-out
    December 5, 2017

    Watch: News Reporter Blacks Out on Ride with US Navy Blue Angels

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter Twitter

Recent Comments

  • Speir Mor Media Amazing history and pride in the old B-52! And that’s one hell of a range. [...]
  • disqus_lkVjMrnsGt As an 8th grader in 1960 I first became acquainted with the 1952 Washington [...]
  • SWS Irrational fears and misinformation is not a reason to get a waiver from a [...]
  • Paul Otts Apparently yours included since all you posted was criticism of others.

© Copyright 2022 SOFREP Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertisers
 

Loading Comments...