Posted on 02/26/2012 1:14:49 AM PST by U-238
A century after 1st Lt. Alfred A. Cunningham took his first flight in 1912, Marine Corps aviation introduced the F-35B Lightning II aircraft into its fleet. The short takeoff vertical landing variant combined with fifth generation capabilities is a breakthrough in itself, matching the importance of the first Marine aviator and starting a new chapter in Marine Corps aviation history.
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing's Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 hosted the ceremony inducting the F-35B Lightning II multirole, joint strike fighter, into the Marine Corps aviation arsenal at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Feb. 24 at 2 p.m.
Gen. Joseph Dunford, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, stated at the rollout ceremony that for the first time in aviation history, the most lethal fighter characteristics came together on a single platform. A list of the aircraft's abilities include supersonic speed, radar-evading stealth, extreme agility and short takeoff vertical landing capability.
"It's innovation like that represented here today which has kept Marine aviation ready and relevant for the last 100 years," said Dunford.
The new aircraft was on display at the VMFAT-501 hangar for military leaders, government officials and other guests to view.
(Excerpt) Read more at dvidshub.net ...
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Ping
Ping, but A.A. Cunningham got his first : )
That’s a pleasant bit of news for a snowy Sunday morning.
After all of the It-Will-Never-Fly Drum & Bugle Corps action around here every time the bird got mentioned, do you know when we’re going to have the mass ROFLMAO and Crow Banquet for them?
(Yeah, I know...never. Same deal we got working on the B-1.)
Make sure U-238 gets the end cut.
Its time for the F-35 to move over at let the F-22 take over.Produce the number ordered and that is it. The F-22 or the F-15 Silent Eagle has proven its worth. It has been in testing too long.
2 posted on Monday, February 20, 2012 8:48:43 PM by U-238 2 posted on Monday, February 20, 2012 8:48:43 PM by U-238
Probably a fine point, but I do believe that he was referring to the F-35A there. Same family name, but vastly different missions. (B’s all that the Jarheads have been praying for since Desert Storm, but I’d be careful to want one in a furrball where the DoubleDeuce or Eagles come to play.)
When the AF finally crawls off the dime and announces their activation, we can have a separate party if you like.
U238 (and certainly me) will probably buy a round.
Amazing the Corps finally gets a new, fresh airplane. Seems like the whole time i was in, everything was hand-me-downs from the squids, and beat to hell. We used to hate it when a carrier bird would divert, and see it looking like it just came off the showroom floor.
Yes I said that. It does not negate the fact it costs a $100 million dollars a plane A.A. and every country is cutting back their orders. Most countries are switching to the F-22 and the Silent Eagle.. Or you have forgotten about that. A very short memory
Its cheaper to build a Silent Eagle and a F-22. Its all mathematics and cost.
I did forget to mention that South Korea is passing on the F-35.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2843391/posts
Man, does that sound familiar!
'Course, I had that deal because I was one of the lucky souls in Naval Air Training.
Had one of our TF-9 Cougars flame out at altitude, wind up pancaking in on the salt marshes after the Student & IP conducted two dozen (unsucessful) air restarts and then righteously punched out goin' through 10K. Somebody finally spotted the bird sitting down there in the dunes, Navy called in an Army helo to pluck it outta there and it came back to the exact same squadron after a month or so of bandaids/baler twine/Krylon at Pensacola (or someplace).
Only way we finally got rid of those Cougars was when the screwjacks running the horizontal stab started failing, the bird demonstrated appropriately poor flight characteristics, i.e. fell down and hurt people and the Big Guy shut down every squadron in the command until we got some birds that actually flew. (I still bless that man's memory every day.)
Scuttlebutt had it that the TA-4's that appeared a couple of weeks later were actually intended for a Marine RAG outfit, but it appeared that we'd been moved up a skosh from absolute hind tit. Nice birds. Very clean. Didn't even bleed hydraulic fluid (or any other stuff) on you during preflight.
Best of all, we didn't have to deal with those Martin-Backbreaker ejection seats that came with the Cougar.....
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