Posted on 10/14/2017 8:24:48 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
This proud RAF pilot is hoping to be the first to fly an F-35 fighter jet off HMS Queen Elizabeth, Britain's brand new aircraft carrier.
Squadron Leader Andy Edgell, one of Britain's top airmen, is currently testing our 11 new F-35s in the United States ahead of their sea trials on the warship next year.
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the 37-year-old father of three said he is 'exhilarated by every flight' in the 1,200mph attack planes equipped with bombs and heat-seeking missiles.
'She's marvellous,' Edgell said of the F-35 from the air base in Maryland where the testing is taking place.
'She has an incredible amount of thrust but it's more than just brawn that makes her so fantastic to fly - it's the brains behind her as well,' he added, referring to the plane's control law - or Claw - technology which keeps it stable in the air even at frightening speeds.
'The idea is to make the jets very easy to control so the pilots can focus on carrying out their mission,' he said.
'She's a masterful piece of engineering and it makes her so effortless to fly.'
The F-35, a multi-role supersonic stealth aircraft, is fitted with a Pratt & Whitney F-135-600 engine which generates up to 50,000 pounds of thrust, enough to thrill even the most experienced of pilots.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4974338/British-pilot-hopes-fly-HMS-Elizabeth.html#ixzz4vUqWJz28 Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Proud serviceman: Squadron Leader Andy Edgell is hoping to be the first man to fly an F-35 fighter jet off HMS Queen Elizabeth, Britain's brand new aircraft carrier
Faster than the speed of sound: Squadron Leader Andy Edgell takes off from aircraft carrier USS America during testing
Flies like a dream, too bad nothing else works ...
If London mayor had his way it would be HMS Khan or HMS Arabia.
When I was 18, the HMS Bristol docked where I grew up, we took in two sailors for overnight...they gave us a tour of the ship, and I played a round of darts with them...the first two, I robinhooded in the bullseye, and everyone erupted in disbelief...one of them went to the fridge, pulled out a John Courage lager and handed it to me in celebration. Crazy luck. I’ll never forget that.
When was the last time they had a carrier?
“...from the HMS Queen Elizabeth, taking off from a ramp...”
If one wanted to continue as a squadron leader, one would carefully consider one’s description of the thrills of taking off from Queen Lizzy’s ramp.
A lot of the problem seems to be the way they develop all new combat aircraft. Used to be they had ‘X’ versions of test aircraft for test, ‘Y’ versions were pre-production models. And after all that they’re would be the operational production models. Now we try to design, build & produce all in parallel. Practically guarantees that the aircraft will be fielded no matter what.
If I were that pilot, I’d be tempted to say Queen Elizabeth I’s line as I took off: “I, too can command the wind!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMpigAUQt_4
Used to be that each new plane design was designed for one role, like the F-22. Now everybody has their role incorporated into a single design guaranteeing the plane will do none well and now perhaps none at all.
Best wishes to Andy. He is lucky that the powers that be didn’t try to shoehorn Prince William or Prince Harry into his slot so that they could play at being fighter pilots until they tired of the demands of the work.
Yes. In peacetime mult-role rules the roost. Planes are built in smaller numbers and everything all the economies-of-scale on everything from fabrication to pilot training pushes you that way. This is a lot of the reason that the A-10 always sits at the #1 spot on the USAF’s hit list.
They’re good aircraft. There are always bugs to work out in early builds, and enemy nations anxiously propagandize against them with mobs of concern trolls and funny videos. F-35s do well at what they’re going to do. Other types of aircraft do their jobs well. Teamwork and networking are important.
F-35s will work with other kinds of aircraft that do other jobs. Together, they comprise a superior force.
“F-35s will work with other kinds of aircraft that do other jobs. Together, they comprise a superior force.”
First, however, the F-35s have to work ... and that work depends on the software which has so many bugs and other coding problems that it will cost more billions to fix, if there were any plans to fix it, which at last word, there were none.
and ...?
Shhh. We aren't supposed to call it a carrier.
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