Scott Kenny
ACCESS: Above Top Secret
- Joined
- 15 May 2023
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Got my A&P mostly on Piston engines, yes.You sir, must have grown up among round engines!
Got my A&P mostly on Piston engines, yes.You sir, must have grown up among round engines!
None of the turbine engines that I have been associated with had any run in requirements for the oil system. High oil consumption is usually due to a leaking hose/tube, or a failed shaft seal resulting in excessive breather pressure. It is not like seating piston rings against a cylinder crosshatch finish.Huh, that's quite a bit less time than I expected...
I was expecting several hours of MIL power till oil consumption stabilized.
Indeed, the B is too limited in internal carriage, it's like half an F-35 really.Spain and portugal possible future F-35 customers? That is surprising news, also Spain buying both the F-35A and B variants. Something that the UK should have done especially to replace the Tornado GR.4/ADV.
A proper CVN CATOBAR carrier like so:In an ideal world we should have bought both the A and C variants of the F-35 no messing around with CTOL or STOVL carriers the C has better internal capability than the B and also has better overall range. But we were left with the limited capability B which was a bad mistake.
Not reallySpain and portugal possible future F-35 customers? That is surprising news
I don't think its cool or based or whatever. I think its just sad. I actually support the decision to purchase the planes but watching your own politicians to give up your sovereignty to foreign overlords and then cheering for it is something I oppose regardless of whoever does it.
Analysis – Lightning strikes: F-35 continues to storm Europe
Two recent announcements pertaining to the Czech Republic and Greece confirmed the seemingly relentless progress of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike...www.janes.com
View attachment 719318
This might not be the best analogy but where Europe is currently with 5/6th generation fighter plans compared to ~1000 F-35s, its like your family sitting around planning for a large garden to produce their own food when there’s a grocery store down the block to shop at.I kinda feel sad that the European fighter market cannot be cornered by European made fighters. Especially considering that any such decision is as much a question of buying the best hardware, as is supporting the domestic aerospace capabilities. It's so sad to see that most European nation have no vested interest in manufacturing European jets.
Are they just going with "B"s or are they going back to the original plan of a mix of both "A"s and "B"s?Don't know if anyone else on this thread knows that the UK are finally planning to purchase the full amount of F-35s (138) that were originally planned for the RN/RAF squadrons. Looks like the UK Defence Ministry has woken up at last.
Don't know if anyone else on this thread knows that the UK are finally planning to purchase the full amount of F-35s (138) that were originally planned for the RN/RAF squadrons. Looks like the UK Defence Ministry has woken up at last.
Nice chart … but it ignores the Canadian purchases.Analysis – Lightning strikes: F-35 continues to storm Europe
Two recent announcements pertaining to the Czech Republic and Greece confirmed the seemingly relentless progress of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike...www.janes.com
View attachment 719318
Nice chart … but it ignores the Canadian purchases.
Last year Canada announced intentions to buy F-35s to replace 40 year old CF-18s. But don’t hold your breath because purchasing military aircraft is such a political football in Canada, that the process will take decades.
An executive for Pratt & Whitney, the RTX-owned company that makes the jet’s F135 engines, told reporters Tuesday that the Engine Core Upgrade program’s preliminary design review is expected to take place in May 2024.
That is later than the company originally predicted last fall, when it said the review was scheduled for January 2024 [...]
In a statement to Defense News on Friday, the F-35 Joint Program Office said the design review is “event driven” and has not been delayed, but that it is taking a closer look at the engine upgrade.
“We have added a senior-level engineering and technical review to the schedule, which will take place in the February/March time frame,” the JPO said. “The JPO, in conjunction with our industry partner [Pratt & Whitney], continues to mitigate risk as we work toward the PDR [preliminary design review].”
Interesting btw, how all 3 European producers managed to end up with the exact same product cycle(~2000 - MLU 2020...25 - replacement 2035...50).I kinda feel sad that the European fighter market cannot be cornered by European made fighters. Especially considering that any such decision is as much a question of buying the best hardware, as is supporting the domestic aerospace capabilities. It's so sad to see that most European nation have no vested interest in manufacturing European jets.
If they simply opt for a like-for-like replacement, then it could be as low as 12, which seems to be their operational EAV-8B+ force.But Spain is very much in the balance at present, rumours out of Spain seem to indicate that sentiment has turned against F-35, particularly the A variant. I don't see the B variant order, if it does happen (its more likely than A), being more than 20 max, with c16 more likely.
Not really
If they simply opt for a like-for-like replacement, then it could be as low as 12, which seems to be their operational EAV-8B+ force.
I kinda feel sad that the European fighter market cannot be cornered by European made fighters. Especially considering that any such decision is as much a question of buying the best hardware, as is supporting the domestic aerospace capabilities. It's so sad to see that most European nation have no vested interest in manufacturing European jets.
The F-35's path to becoming ubiquitous in European Air Forces was already set in the 1990s and 2000s, when Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden etc failed to start development of their own 5th generation fighters (either as part of a multi-national consortium, or individually).
As such, the F-35 was the only viable option available.
It matters only when air force in question has weapons to make use of it.Indeed, the B is too limited in internal carriage, it's like half an F-35 really.
Offtop:How would the Eurofighter vs F-35 competitions have run if Eurofighter was already in Norwegian service and being delivered to the Greeks, with 800-900 orders when the F-35 finally reached a saleable standard?
Part of the problem is that developing a new fighter is now sufficiently expensive that you need a US-sized economy to pull it off unaided.I kinda feel sad that the European fighter market cannot be cornered by European made fighters. Especially considering that any such decision is as much a question of buying the best hardware, as is supporting the domestic aerospace capabilities. It's so sad to see that most European nation have no vested interest in manufacturing European jets.
I'd bet doing a hell of a lot better in sales than now.How would the Eurofighter vs F-35 competitions have run if Eurofighter was already in Norwegian service and being delivered to the Greeks, with 800-900 orders when the F-35 finally reached a saleable standard?
And a couple of those would rather be glowing radioactive craters than Russian client/slave states again.While not necessarily a 100% rule, it's worth taking a look at F-35 European customer list. (UK/Italy - B model, Switzerland, and recently Germany - nuclear bomber, - are omitted: exception b/c logic of procurement was very different).
Czechia - Poland - Finland - Denmark - Norway - Netherlands - Belgium - Greece.
Intentional or not, those are all the countries - victims of the fall of the European security system in the 1930s, i.e. countries that would rather not rely on traditional European security providers.
The match is certainly not perfect(but better without B model), but explainable - and correlation is quite present.
Still same logic, victims of the break-down of the European security system. Saint-Petersburg/Moscow are two of the capitals responsible for the mess back then.And a couple of those would rather be glowing radioactive craters than Russian client/slave states again.
The UK and Italy were the true surprises
In this sense, btw - it's the B model that is the most successful product subtype, ironically. A eats the captive market around the world.
It's the STOVL version that expands it in multiple nations around the world.
Italy with the A variant perhaps. But given the UK was in F-35 from day 1, and in its predecessor programme, precisely to replace a joint UK/US product (AV-8B/GR.5/7/9) and was key to the requirements that it was to meet, it wasn't a surprise in the slightest. The only real surprise would be the UK purchasing the A variant...which isn't going to happen.