AirSkyBuster : Aircraft and Airplane

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F-35 Lightning II (Picture 4). F-35 Lightning II aircraft images wallpaper gallery 4. F-35 Lightning II aircraft pictures collection 4. The F-35's main engine is the Pratt & Whitney F135. The General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 is being developed as an alternative engine. The F135/F136 engines are not designed to supercruise in the F-35. The STOVL versions of both power plants use the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem, patented by Lockheed Martin and built by Rolls-Royce. This system is more like the Russian Yak-141 and German VJ 101D/E than the preceding generation of STOVL designs, such as the Harrier Jump Jet in which all of the lifting air went through the main fan of the Rolls-Royce Pegasus engine. F-35 Lightning II (Picture 4). F-35 Lightning II aircraft images wallpaper gallery 4. F-35 Lightning II aircraft pictures collection 4. The Lift System is composed of a lift fan, drive shaft, two roll posts and a "Three Bearing Swivel Module" (3BSM). The 3BSM is a thrust vectoring nozzle which allows the main engine exhaust to be deflected downward at the tail of the aircraft. The lift fan near the front of the aircraft provides a counter-balancing thrust. Somewhat like a vertically mounted turbofan within the forward fuselage, the lift fan is powered by the engine's low-pressure (LP) turbine via a drive shaft and gearbox. Roll control during slow flight is achieved by diverting engine bypass air through wing mounted thrust nozzles called Roll Posts. The F-35B's lift fan achieves the same 'flow multiplier' effect as the Harrier's huge, but supersonically impractical, main fan. Like lift engines, this added machinery is just dead weight during horizontal flight but provides a net increase in payload capacity during vertical flight. The cool exhaust of the fan also reduces the amount of hot, high-velocity air that is projected downward during vertical take off (which can damage runways and aircraft carrier decks). Though complicated and risky, the lift system has been made to work to the satisfaction of DoD officials. F-35 Lightning II (Picture 4). F-35 Lightning II aircraft images wallpaper gallery 4. F-35 Lightning II aircraft pictures collection 4.

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F-35 Lightning II (Picture 3). F-35 Lightning II aircraft images wallpaper gallery 3. F-35 Lightning II aircraft pictures collection 3. The F-35 appears to be a smaller, slightly more conventional, single-engine sibling of the sleeker, twin-engine F-22 Raptor, and indeed drew elements from it. The exhaust duct design was inspired by the General Dynamics Model 200 design, which was proposed for a 1972 supersonic VTOL fighter requirement for the Sea Control Ship. For specialized development of the F-35B STOVL variant, Lockheed consulted with the Yakovlev Design Bureau, purchasing design data from their development of the Yakovlev Yak-141 "Freestyle". Although several experimental designs have been built and tested since the 1960s including the Navy's unsuccessful Rockwell XFV-12, the F-35B is to be the first operational supersonic, STOVL stealth fighter. F-35 Lightning II (Picture 3). F-35 Lightning II aircraft images wallpaper gallery 3. F-35 Lightning II aircraft pictures collection 3. The F-35 has a maximum speed of over Mach 1.6. With a maximum takeoff weight of 60,000 lb (27,000 kg), the Lightning II is considerably heavier than the lightweight fighters it replaces. In empty and maximum gross weights, it more closely resembles the single-seat, single-engine Republic F-105 Thunderchief, which was the largest single-engine fighter of the Vietnam war era. However the F-35's modern engine delivers over 60 percent more thrust in an aircraft of the same weight so that in thrust to weight and wing loading it is much closer to a comparably equipped F-16. F-35 Lightning II (Picture 3). F-35 Lightning II aircraft images wallpaper gallery 3. F-35 Lightning II aircraft pictures collection 3.

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F-35 Lightning II (Picture 2). F-35 Lightning II aircraft images wallpaper gallery 2. F-35 Lightning II aircraft pictures collection 2. On 7 July 2006, the US Air Force officially announced the name of the F-35: Lightning II, in honor of Lockheed's World War II-era twin-prop P-38 Lightning and the Cold War-era jet, the English Electric Lightning. English Electric Company's aircraft division was a predecessor of F-35 partner BAE Systems. Lightning II was also an early company name for its fighter that was later named F-22 Raptor. On 19 December 2008, Lockheed Martin rolled out the first weight-optimized F-35A (designated AF-1). It is the first F-35 to be produced at a full-rate production speed and is structurally identical to the production F-35As that will be delivered starting in 2010. F-35 Lightning II (Picture 2). F-35 Lightning II aircraft images wallpaper gallery 2. F-35 Lightning II aircraft pictures collection 2. As of 5 January 2009, six F-35s were complete, including AF-1 and AG-1, and 17 were in production. "Thirteen of the 17 in production are pre-production test aircraft, and all of those will be finished in 2009," said John R. Kent, acting manager of F-35 Lightning II Communications at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company. "The other four are the first production-model planes, and the first of those will be delivered in 2010 to the U.S. Air Force, and will go to Eglin Air Force Base." On 6 April 2009, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates proposed speeding up production for the US to buy 2,443 F-35s. In August 2010, Lockheed Martin announced delays in resolving a "wing-at-mate overlap" production problem, which would slow initial production. F-35 Lightning II (Picture 2). F-35 Lightning II aircraft images wallpaper gallery 2. F-35 Lightning II aircraft pictures collection 2.

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F-35 Lightning II (Picture 1). F-35 Lightning II aircraft images wallpaper gallery 1. F-35 Lightning II aircraft pictures collection 1. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability. The F-35 has three main models; one is a conventional takeoff and landing variant, the second is a short take off and vertical-landing variant, and the third is a carrier -based variant. The F-35 is descended from the X-35, the product of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. JSF development is being principally funded by the United States, with the United Kingdom and other partner governments providing additional funding. It is being designed and built by an aerospace industry team led by Lockheed Martin. F-35 Lightning II (Picture 1). F-35 Lightning II aircraft images wallpaper gallery 1. F-35 Lightning II aircraft pictures collection 1. The F-35 took its first flight on 15 December 2006. The United States intends to buy a total of 2,443 aircraft for an estimated US$323 billion, making it the most expensive defense program ever. The United States Air Force (USAF) budget data in 2010, along with other sources, projects the F-35 to have a flyaway cost from US$89 million to US$200 million over the planned production of F-35s. Cost estimates have risen to $382 billion for 2,443 aircraft, at an average of $156 million each. The rising program cost estimates have cast doubt on the actual number to be produced for the U.S. In January 2011, the F-35B variant was placed on "probation" for two years because of development issues. F-35 Lightning II (Picture 1). F-35 Lightning II aircraft images wallpaper gallery 1. F-35 Lightning II aircraft pictures collection 1.