Only In America, We hope

[Shep]

Oh dear …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igAt42sMsiU

Perhaps the usual “bitching Betty” aural warnings were changed to a more demonic type, “get oouuuttt …”

[Shep]

Some situational irony ?!

According to the below link, the debris field has been found in Williamsburg County (burg = town). Pity it wasn't "Williamburg"

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-35-...for-missing-jet

[Brenden S]

Good ol US of A......

[Shep]

Cheers, Brenden.

I seem to remember Spaz making a comment a couple of years ago (reference the RAAF F/A-18F which departed the runway during take off at Amberley) that part of the sequence of events during the crews’ emergency egress was that the said ejection sequence automatically cut power to the engines.

If that is true, then it seems like a jolly good idea.

If that isn’t true, then this zombie F-35 incident makes a reasonable case as to why it should be – what with FBW and what-not trying to maintain an optimal AoA an' all.

So, in the unlikely event that the pilot leaves to go home before the flight is finished (was he duty limited, or wot?!), the jet doesn’t continue on (and on) (and on). (Not to mention things like what ever happened to “see and avoid”? or, who would’ve been the one blamed if one of these “zombie” jets bumps into an airliner).

Anyway, if these F-35’s are so effn smart and the glossy brochures say it can do this, that and the other without anybody else seeing it, then how come it’s too dumb to know that it is suddenly 300kg lighter than it should be at an absolutely flight critical airframe station number (i.e. that the canopy, driver and seat aren’t there anymore)?

Image if it was a similar scenario to the F/A-18 runway departure, loaded with fuel (and maybe also with real munitions, etc – heading off for a spot of live-fire at the range) and – for whatever reason – the pilot gets flicked out of the jet just as it is adopting the climb attitude – then, with the computer trying (rather successfully as recent events show us) to keep the aeroplane “truckin’ right” even with the extra drag of a suddenly open cockpit and not seeming to care that the weight on the pilot and ejection seat have suddenly vanished, it heads off, as the USAF song goes, “into the wild blue yonder …”.

Yep, it’s all fun and games until someone gets poked in the eye …

[And yes, I know it was USMC and not air force].

Edit: undid some spelink missteaks

This post has been edited by Shep on Sep 26 2023, 08:04 PM

[Brenden S]

I did read somewhere that the jet actually did it what it was meant to do and continue flying straight to allow the pilot to land safely. Part of the ejection is to scramble all the electronics, thus why it took them such a long time to find.