Video Footage Shows F-35C Violently Jarring Pilots
(Source: Compiled by Defense-Aerospace.com; posted Jan 30, 2017)
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/article-view/release/180667/new-footage-shows-how-f_35c-bounces-pilots-around.html
[See the item for links to all videos]

PARIS --- Video footage posted on social networks over the week-end has
revealed for the first time the violence of the vibrations to which US Navy
pilots are subjected when taxiing or launching in their F-35C aircraft.

These vibrations, reported for the first time on Jan. 4 by Business Insider,
were detailed in a US Navy report with data dating back to 2014, but were
not made public before. The vibrations create rough takeoffs that hurt and
disorient pilots at the critical moment when they're taking off from a
carrier.

The Pentagon has formed a Red Team to fix the problem, which found the
problem was due to several factors central to the plane's design, and
recommended several fixes that will take several months to several years to
fully fix, Business Insider said. The report states that long term actions
to address the problem will not take place until 2019, at which point
they'll take 12-36 months to implement. Redesigns to the plane, as well as
to carriers, may be necessary to fully address the problem.

The problems were extensively described by the Pentagon Director of
Operational Test& Evaluation, J. Michael Gilmore, in his final annual
report, released on January 10.

“Due to the stiffness of the landing gear struts, particularly the nose
gear, taxiing in the F-35C results in excessive jarring of the aircraft and
often requires pilots to stop taxiing if they need to make changes using the
touchscreens on the cockpit displays or to write information on their
kneeboard,” Gilmore wrote.


This video shows several carrier launches of the F-35C, the first of which
shows the pilot subjected to vertical jarring so severe the helmet visor
snaps open. Another show the pilot’s head hitting the canopy. (US Navy
video)
https://youtu.be/0BQYZgSBInw

The report continued by noting that “Currently, the program has no plans to
correct the deficiency of excessive jarring during F-35C taxi operations.”

Business Insider reported that a Pentagon deficiency report in 2015 stated
that extreme movements in the cockpit during launch risked pilot health.

One hundred and five pilots completing catapult launches rated their level
of pain or discomfort on a scale of one to five. Of the 105, 74 pilots
reported "moderate" pain or a 3, 18 pilots reported "severe" pain or a 4,
and one pilot reported "severe pain that persists" after launching from an
aircraft carrier.

The “excessive vertical oscillations during catapult launches make the F-35C
operationally unsuitable for carrier operations, according to fleet pilots
who conducted training onboard USS George Washington during the latest set
of ship trials,” Gilmore continued.

He further added that, “Although numerous deficiencies have been written
against the F-35C catapult launch – starting with the initial set of F-35C
ship trials (DT‑I) in November 2014 – the deficiencies were considered
acceptable for continuing developmental testing.”

“Fleet pilots reported that the oscillations were so severe that they could
not read flight critical data, an unacceptable and unsafe situation during a
critical phase of flight. Most of the pilots locked their harness during the
catapult shot which made emergency switches hard to reach, again creating,
in their opinion, an unacceptable and unsafe situation.

“The U.S. Navy has informed the Program Office that it considers this
deficiency to be a “must fix” deficiency. The program should address the
deficiency of excessive vertical oscillations during catapult launches
within SDD to ensure catapult operations can be conducted safely during
IOT&E and during operational carrier deployments.

The Joint Program Office has not responded specifically to this latest
problem discovered on the F-35 program, but Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, the F-35
Program Executive Officer, responded to Gilmore’s 68-page report with his
stock response:

“The latest DOT&E report contained no surprises; all of the issues are
well-known to the JPO, the U.S. services, our international partners, and
our industry team.”

However, the US Navy plans to declare Initial Operational Capability of the
F-35C variant in 2019, and clearly will not be able to unless this problem
is fixed.

-ends-