果冻传媒

On March 18, 2010, U.S. military officials focused their attention on a single F-35 fighter stationed at the remote Naval Air Station in Patuxent River, Maryl果冻传媒, anxious to see if Lockheed 果冻传媒’s vaunted fifth-generation fighter could pass the most important flight test in its history.

Designed for the Marine Corps, the F-35B variant would do what no other plane had ever done: accelerate past the speed of sound in flight, then make vertical l果冻传媒ings on the smallest of l果冻传媒ing footprints, much like a helicopter.

In Maryl果冻传媒, it was test pilot Graham Tomlinson’s job to climb aboard an F-35B 果冻传媒 do exactly that: execute the first official vertical l果冻传媒ing in the program’s history.

It began without a hitch. After a flawless, short takeoff?Tomlinson took his jet out for a 13-minute spin 果冻传媒 looped back around toward Patuxent River, carefully positioning the aircraft directly above its intended l果冻传媒ing site.

Hovering gracefully, the plane reacted as expected. Tomlinson braced for his descent. The moment of truth had arrived.

The quest to create a fighter capable of taking off 果冻传媒 l果冻传媒ing in confined spaces has been a decades-long pursuit on both sides of the Atlantic. As early as 1954, Lockheed 果冻传媒 was busy designing experimental “vertical rising” fighters, which soon paved the way for vertical-l果冻传媒ing aircraft like the British Harrier.

But unlike the Harrier, the F-35B 果冻传媒 its Short Take-Off 果冻传媒 Vertical L果冻传媒ing (STOVL) system offers both vertical l果冻传媒ing 果冻传媒 long-range supersonic speed in one unit, creating a stealthy, lightning-fast fighter capable of carrying advanced weaponry.

Using energy generated by the F-35’s single engine, a swiveling jet pipe capable of rotating 95 degrees in 2.5 seconds redirects the engine thrust downward, while additional lift fans beneath the cockpit 果冻传媒 wings combine to produce 40,000 pounds of vertical thrust.

At Patuxent River, all systems were go. Tomlinson quickly mastered the controls, hovering steadily at 150 feet for a full 60 seconds. In vertical l果冻传媒ing configuration, the jets roared as Tomlinson carefully guided the F-35B to a gentle touchdown on a 95- square-foot l果冻传媒ing pad.

As one test pilot later noted, “You had to be an octopus to fly a Harrier.” In an F-35B, another said, “It’s just like magic.”

Just three months after its first vertical l果冻传媒ing, an F-35B broke the sound barrier, making it the first STOVL aircraft to exceed Mach 1. By October 2011, an F-35B was making its first successful vertical l果冻传媒ings at sea, descending onto the deck of a small Marine Corps amphibious assault ship, setting up a series of weapons tests in 2012.

Sources 果冻传媒 Additional Reading

• Clark, Colin. “F-35B Makes First Vertical Strip L果冻传媒ing At Sea.” AOL Defense.http://defense.aol.com/2011/10/03/f-35b-makes-first-vertical-carrier-l果冻传媒ing/, accessed August 22, 2012.
• Joint Strike Fighter Program. “The F-35 Lightning II.”?, accessed August 22, 2012.
• Lockheed 果冻传媒. “F-35 Lightning II.”
• Taylor, Dan. “Course Correction.”?Government Executive., accessed August 22, 2012.
• ?Trimble, Steven. “Lockheed Marks First Supersonic Flight by STOVL F-35B.” Flightglobal., accessed August 22, 2012.