Who knew it swings the other way?

[ChunkyDA]

The F-35 canopy, that is.
New nickname...Corvette.

[silvrr]

More shots! Not of the canopy of the whole plane please.

[mlav]

If I wanted to see the canopy, I'd watch Die Hard 4.

;)

[PhotosGuy]

Great opportunity! Not enough shots of it. ;)

[ChunkyDA]

Great opportunity! Not enough shots of it. ;)

Nose to tail, here you go.

It was a media circus for the local townsfolk. Tour buses, TV cameras, LMCO reps. There were a few closeups I wanted to get but they wouldn't allow it and I wouldn't post them anyway.
Needless to say, an amazing capability is about to be fielded.

[PhotosGuy]

Better!

[RyanM]

how does the F35 compare to the F22?

[FlyingPhotog]

how does the F35 compare to the F22?

Similar to what the F-15 Eagle Vs F-16 Fighting Falcon is now...

F-22 = Air Dominance Fighter
F-35 = Multi Mission

Nice Shots Dave!!

[poppie guy]

Fantastic looking plane, thanks for posting.

[garyeaton]

wonder where the canopy goes if the pilot needs to eject since it is hinged in the front

[FlyingPhotog]

wonder where the canopy goes if the pilot needs to eject since it is hinged in the front

In #2 there is a grey line of material running around the canopy. That could be "canopy cutter" that will cut a hole for the pilot to pass through if he has to pull the handle.

[digirebelva]

Wouldnt the canopy blast off from the frame before the pilot ejects to keep from hitting anything on the way out?

[sry407]

Wouldnt the canopy blast off from the frame before the pilot ejects to keep from hitting anything on the way out?

All fighters have canopy removers installed on them. It has enough explosives to push the canopy up, the nose away & then the seat out.

It only takes a fraction of a second for the canopy to clear the jet.

[RyanM]

Similar to what the F-15 Eagle Vs F-16 Fighting Falcon is now...

F-22 = Air Dominance Fighter
F-35 = Multi Mission

so by saying that, the f22 compares to the F15 and the F35 to the F16?

[sry407]

so by saying that, the f22 compares to the F15 and the F35 to the F16?

Well, I think THE biggest difference is the F-35 is still being funded, and the F-22 project is already being tossed to the side...

[FlyingPhotog]

so by saying that, the f22 compares to the F15 and the F35 to the F16?

The mission parameters for each aircraft will be similar. But the technology is several orders newer of course... ;)

[ChunkyDA]

Check out the helmet. The level of information provided to the pilot is unlike any previous war machine.

[Scout7id]

Well, I think THE biggest difference is the F-35 is still being funded, and the F-22 project is already being tossed to the side...

And isn't that most insane thing? I think I heard we are only going to field ~30 Raptors instead of the initial ~183. Unbelievable!

ON TOPIC: Great opportunity and you took advantage of it nicely. Very nice shots.

[Karl Johnston]

Check out the helmet. The level of information provided to the pilot is unlike any previous war machine.

Looks like that cost quite a bit more than my carbon fiber ski doo helmet!


What kind of information can the pilot access through that helmet?

[kit lens]

Nice.

[FlyingPhotog]

What kind of information can the pilot access through that helmet?

The pilot can see all of the standard information normally projected on the HUD (Heads Up Display) including pitch ladder, airspeed, altitude, heading, weapon status, distance/time/course to next waypoint and Time on Target.

It also uses synthetic vision technology which shows terrain and navigation info (aka Highway in the Sky.)

Probably the biggest advance is being able to fire missles in what's known as "Off Boresight Mode." IOW, wherever the pilot is looking, even if it's beyond the nominal gimble limits of the weapon seeker head (including straight down through the floorboards...) that info is sent to the missle telling it where to go on its own in advance of seeker aquisition.

Traditionally, you fight such that you end up on the enemy jet's 6 o'clock postion. With the next generation of weapons, the helmet-mounted display will tell the missle where it needs to go on its own to acheive a proper lock and the pilot won't have to work anywhere near as hard to acheive a firing solution.

Not quite Buck Rogers but it's getting there... ;)

[adamsti]

To me, F-22, it can grow on you.
F-35, fat and ugly, not even a mother could love that thing.