While I’m on the topic of the F-35, LockMart produced a new video for the F-35 UK delivery ceremony on July 19, 2012. Most people think the inspiration for the name Lightning II is the Lockheed’s own WWII fighter, the P-38 Lightning. But that’s only part of the story, LockMart’s Tier 1 partner in developing the F-35 is BAE. And BAE evolved out of the earlier BAC, which produced the English Electric Lightning Mach 2 interceptor early in the Cold War. When they were selecting the name Lightning II was chosen to honor both the P-38 and BAC Lightning, and to benefit from the pride and nostalgia on both sides of the Atlantic, of course. There are also references to the Harrier, which was of British origin and later adopted by the US Marine Corps.

Though I’m not sure I’d go with “Pandora’s Box of excitement” as a statement of praise; it seems like a bit of a mixed message. Pandora’s Box was not a good thing. I suppose you could argue the development difficulties and delays the F-35 has run into are the Pandora’s Box… but that’s strained.

Boeing shared their highlights from Day 3:

Eurocopter shared this video of their EC175 helicopter flight display:

Airbus had a few things to share as well. Like their own Day 3 highlights:

Sharklets and the A320 NEO:

Alternative fuel efforts:

And this one is interesting, IMHO. Airbus and the low-cost airline EasyJet are working together on a new sensor, dubbed AVOID, designed to allow airliners to sense and, well, avoid volcanic ash clouds. You may recall that not long ago air travel in Europe was royally snarled by a volcanic ash cloud from an Icelandic eruption. Since there is no good way to detect the actual cloud and avoid it, and volcanic ash can do serious damage to an airliner (from stripping paint to sandblasting the windscreen opaque to filling the engines with glass and shutting them down), today authorities are forced to use conservative computer models of where the ash might be and shut down large swaths of airspace. If aircraft could sense and avoid the ash on their own the impact of eruptions on air travel could be greatly reduced, as not as much airspace would need to be closed to traffic. It is still early days of course, so this may not pan out. (I do like the way the test rig has been mounted – through the window openings.)

UPDATE: Coming a little late Lockheed Martin share this video from the show with three of the F-35 test pilots describing their perspective on the aircraft:

And a bonus – test pilot Pete Wilson discusses flying the STOVL F-35B:

Additionally, the F-35C carrier variant made it’s first night flight on June 13 from PAX River. There’s some nice afterburner shock diamond shots in here.

If you’re for or against the program in general, I think we can still agree the F-35 is an impressive aircraft. Hopefully it will live up to its promise. Keep in mind that a number of aircraft considered legendary today struggled during their test programs as well.

And now the videos:

And while we’re on the topic of the F-35, the first flight of the F-35B out of Eglin AFB in Florida occurred on May 22. The flight marks the beginning of Marine Corps F-35B operations at Eglin.

Also in F-35 related video, the Naval Air Systems Command released this one on the F-35B Manned Flight Simulator:

And their May 2012 edition of NAVAIR Airwaves features a segment on the F-35 starting at the 1:37 mark:

While I’m posting Lockheed Martin related videos, here’s a non-F-35 video – the LCS3 Fort Worth strutting her stuff:

The UK originally planned to purchase the F-35B and they ordered two aircraft from LRIP (Low-Rate Initial Production) – BK-1 & BK-2. They later decided to switch to the F-35C CV (Carrier Variant) and the third LRIP aircraft was switched to that model, and dubbed CK-1. Though now it looks like the UK may be switching back to the F-35B. That all aside, this is the first flight of an F-35 produced for an international partner.

And second is a high speed fly-by by the F-35C:

I love the condensation that forms around the fuselage due to the pressure differentials.

They’d also flown the F-35A with external stores, following up on the early flight of the F-35B with external stores that I posted previously:

And the Naval Air Systems Command posted a very brief video of the first steam catapult launch of the F-35C at NAS Patuxent River last November 4th:

They were pitching the F-35 to potential customers at the Singapore Airshow in February:

They made the first flights of the F-35B with external stores, including external stores pylons, inert AIM-9X Sidewinder middles, and a centerline 25mm gun pod. And before you comment, yes, carrying external stores destroys stealth. The F-35, and F-22, can operate with internal stores only for ‘first day of the war’, all-up stealth. But once air defenses have been suppressed, or in uncontested environments, carrying stores externally allows the aircraft to carry more ordinance to accomplish more on a given mission. They’re also used for external tanks for ferry flights, etc.

And the Marines celebrated the arrival of the F-35B, and the USAF the first flight of the F-35A, at Eglin AFB in Florida:

The US Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command also released their own 2011 Year In Review video:

As well as one commemorating the first flight of an F-35C for the UK:

And, just because, here’s a bonus video of F-16s from the 149th Fighter Wing of the Texas Air National Guard out of Lackland AFB in San Antonio:

Larry, let’s see the film on blinding techniques, then we’ll have some lunch, all right?

The different posts are:

• STOVL Challenges
• Lift Fan
• Swivel Nozzle
• Roll Posts
• Driveshaft
• Clutch
• Doors (Part 1)
• Doors (Part 2)
• Bulkhead

I thought it was quite an interesting read, and I recommend it to anyone interested in aerospace topics.

Edit: There is even more over in the Ares blog with posts on F-35 testing, engine development, and a bit of a status check ten years in.

C’mon, that’s just cool.

Via Aviation Week’s Ares blog.