FMguru posted:

hangar-queen

quote:

Defense spending analyst Winslow Wheeler concluded from flight evaluation reports that the F-35A "is flawed beyond redemption";[185] in response, program manager Bogdan suggested that pilots worried about being shot down should fly cargo aircraft instead.[186]

Current aircraft software is inadequate for even basic pilot training.
Ejection seat may fail, causing pilot fatality.
Several pilot-vehicle interface issues, including lack of feedback on touch screen controls.
The radar performs poorly, or not at all.
Engine replacement takes an average of 52 hours, instead of the two hours specified.
Maintenance tools do not work.[187]
There is a bug with the AMRAAM's ability to provide track/guidance data.
DAS confuses the aircraft's own flare launches with incoming missiles.
The airframe is unlikely to last through the required lifespan.
There are multiple thermal management problems. The air conditioner fails to keep the pilot and controls cool enough, the roll posts on the F-35B overheat, and using the afterburner damages the aircraft.

Endless Mike posted:

yeah the a10 owns and does its job very well, it just happens to be a fairly limited job, so of course they want to replace it with something that does lots of things badly

Shaggar posted:

also you can patch holes in the wings w/ whatever you have laying around

Endless Mike posted:

replace it with something that does lots of things badly

FMguru posted:

the f-22 was the most ridiculously overpriced unnecessary gold-plated hangar-queen aircraft ever designed and procured in the history of aviation

and the f-35 has managed to make it look sober and reasonable and efficient by contrast. no kidding, one of the better suggestions for dealing with the f-35 has been to cancel it and restart production of the f-22

H.P. Hovercraft posted:

wow they stopped building them 30 years ago and they're still in service

that must mean that the f-35 will last even longer!

Elder Postsman posted:

they can also keep flying with absolutely ridiculous amounts of damage, "The aircraft is designed to fly with one engine, one tail, one elevator, and half of one wing missing"

Shaggar posted:

also they're getting new wings that are gonna allow them to remain in service for another 30+ years.


the design is so excellent that its amazing it ever got built in the first place

EMILY BLUNTS posted:

B52 is ~60 years and stil in service also

FMguru posted:

the f-22 was the most ridiculously overpriced unnecessary gold-plated hangar-queen aircraft ever designed and procured in the history of aviation

and the f-35 has managed to make it look sober and reasonable and efficient by contrast. no kidding, one of the better suggestions for dealing with the f-35 has been to cancel it and restart production of the f-22

Fabricated posted:

"The Windowmaker"

Sham bam bamina! posted:

Fabricated posted:

The F-22 was a gigantic overpriced boondoggle but even as much time as I spent laughing at how lovely it was at first it turns out after fixing all of the really stupid-as-poo poo never-should-have-happened problems with it the thing is now a pretty good aircraft.

Nevermind that we really didn't need the anime jet from Ace Combat and the money spent on it was still essentially wasted but at least in the end the thing could possibly do its job on paper.

The F-35 Super Grover is quite possibly the worst aircraft since the starfighter (which killed so many pilots the German airforce nicknamed it "The Windowmaker") and will be even more expensive, as well as being forced on most of our allies.

edit: also enjoy this vintage LF thread about the F-22 that eventually turned into a Grover helldumping

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3410173&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1

EMILY BLUNTS posted:

is there a kill count for it yet? has it actually gone on any missions?
has anyone working on one died?

Condiv posted:

one's engine got stress faults from a pilot making a fairly standard high-g maneuver

later, said engine self destructed by firing a turbine blade through itself, then it tore itself out of the airframe and exploded while the pilot was trying to take off

Condiv posted:

yjsfpos bithc

Sham bam bamina! posted:

lol, and also lol at "super grover" earlier

Nintendo Kid posted:

well the f22 does fly right and such now.

of course as previously stated, all fighter aircraft are useless whether they can get off the ground or not

hobbesmaster posted:

troll iranians

Busta Chimes.wav posted:

its everything a modern bomber needs to be: a pair of wings you can strap a bunch of cruise missiles to and nothing more

Shifty Pony posted:

we would have been much better off dumping the f35 budget into updating things like the b52. could put modern turbofans on if and various cargo aircraft and significantly cut the airforce fuel expenditure

but nope. polishing and improving what is already out there is boring so we go after the new shiny thing and abandon the old. see for example google's product development and support "strategy".

Blackula69 posted:

or, you know, the education system

Shifty Pony posted:

we would have been much better off dumping the f35 budget into updating things like the b52. could put modern turbofans on if and various cargo aircraft and significantly cut the airforce fuel expenditure

but nope. polishing and improving what is already out there is boring so we go after the new shiny thing and abandon the old. see for example google's product development and support "strategy".

Just-In-Timeberlake posted:

one of these things will pay for enormous amounts of cocaine, mistresses, child support, and divorce settlements. The other will not.

I leave it as an exercise to the reader to figure out which one.

Sham bam bamina! posted:

its u

the taxpayer

PleasureKevin posted:

the f35 seems really futuristic and cool and like something that should totally be a science experiment with tonnes of resources behind it

I mean if we lived in the gene Roddenberry universe, post-poverty, post-war and post-capitalism

Shifty Pony posted:

we would have been much better off dumping the f35 budget into updating things like the b52. could put modern turbofans on if and various cargo aircraft and significantly cut the airforce fuel expenditure

but nope. polishing and improving what is already out there is boring so we go after the new shiny thing and abandon the old. see for example google's product development and support "strategy".