Oh the irony, Air Force F-35 'Lightning' can't fly when there's lightning nearby... 1

[JohnRBaker]

It seems that if the new Air Force F-35 fighter jet, which has been named the 'Lightning', if it's struck by lightning, it's highly likely that it'll explode. So they're now being restricted in that they're not allowed to be flown within 25 miles of any observed lightning flashes. Sort of ironic, when you think about it, eh?

The F-35 Lightning II Can't Fly Near...Lightning

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a32971900/f-35-lightning-safety/

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[1503-44]

So then definitely prohibited for use in supporting blitzkrieg ops.


“What I told you was true ... from a certain point of view.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Return of the Jedi"

 

[magoo2]

It's lightning not lightening.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Thank you. My spell checker sometimes fails to understand that I often need more help than it's used to providing ;-)

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[waross]

Simplicate, and add lightness!

Using tanks of compressed nitrogen would have been heavier, hence "Lightening".
Looked okay to me.

Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

 

[charliealphabravo]

Bizarre it is only with the Air Force version, not the Navy/Marine versions.

 

[RVAmeche]

This is pure speculation on my part, but I could see the nitrogen tubing in question being routed differently in the -B variant w/ STOL and the -C variant which is a lot heavier.

Just another in the long, long line of issues with this plane.

 

[3DDave]

English - the linguistic trapeze

The more inflammable nitrogen present ...

Because only in English would a prefix designating the opposite not always mean the opposite. Sigh. I sure don't want any of that combustible nitrogen in my plane.

 

[JohnRBaker]

As George Carlin used to say, "Why does it take three words, flammable, inflammable and nonflammable. Hell, it either flams or it doesn't flam."

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[JayMaechtlen]

" The more inflammable nitrogen present the less flammable oxygen,"


in·flam·ma·ble
/inˈflaməb(ə)l/
Learn to pronounce
adjective
easily set on fire.
"inflammable and poisonous gases"

sigh...

Jay Maechtlen

http://www.laserpubs.com/techcomm

 

[Lou Scannon]

I could be wrong but I believe the correct usage for a substance that does not burn (easily) is "non-flammable"

"Schiefgehen wird, was schiefgehen kann" - das Murphygesetz

 

[1503-44]

Yeah, you are correct. Problem is that everyone else is also correct.

“What I told you was true ... from a certain point of view.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Return of the Jedi"

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

What sort of fuel tanks does it have are the faraday cages made out of metal or are they some form of plastic fibre reinforced jobbies?

We have a nitrogen system on my latest type as well. Which is a first for me.

 

[verymadmac]

Doesn't the F35 also have an unusual state with the fuel, where running out isn't the first critical state, its avionics failure due to insufficient fuel to provide avionics cooling. Its a complicated aircraft!

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

And it's more than likely unstable by design so a human would find it extremely hard to fly it without the computers

 

[IRstuff]

It's not the only A/C with fuel being used as coolant, since that's a lower weight penalty than carrying coolant that can only be used for one thing.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

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[Comcokid]

Every time I see another technological military boon-doggle like the F35, I think of what I learned about the combination of career narcissist and the worst of Pentagon procurement in the book:
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War

 

[IRstuff]

technological military boon-doggle like the F35

It's not clear that it's either a technological nor military boondoggle; it's a political boondoggle
> Expensive programs require massive congressional support, so everyone needs to get their slice
> Everyone thinks that a single, common, system is cheaper, even though, time and again, it's been proven to be false. The F35 has to serve multiple, conflicting, requirements, with the end result that it is not fully compliant to all of its requirements.
> Too many cooks spoil the stew; see above
> Requirements creep; that's part and parcel to being a large and political program; the Sergeant York was one such creature that eventually had to be canceled altogether

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

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[1503-44]

And it's more than likely unstable by design so a human would find it extremely hard to fly it without the computers

So then that's the same as the 737 Frankenstein.

I can see how that might be an advantage when trying to avoid missile strikes. 737, not so much.

“What I told you was true ... from a certain point of view.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Return of the Jedi"

 

[Eufalconimorph]

So then that's the same as the 737 Frankenstein.

I can see how that might be an advantage when trying to avoid missile strikes. 737, not so much.

No, 737 is stable. Just not the right flight characteristics. F35 (and AFAIK all other modern fighters) is actually unstable: very small control inputs cause very large changes in the output. Basically a positive feedback loop between control input and aircraft behavior, instead of a negative feedback like you'd expect. This lets fighters make extremely rapid turns, but means that a human can't keep them in level flight manually. A computer has to constantly make corrections to account for the chaotic dynamics.