"What? Me Worry?" Alfred E. Neumann quote.
U.S. pilots start F-35 training flights as report pans jet 07 Mar 2013 Andrea Shalal-Esa
U.S. starts F-35 training as report pans jet | World | News | Canmore Leader
“WASHINGTON — Some students in the U.S. Air Force’s F-35 fighter pilot school took their first flights on Wednesday [06 Mar 2013] in the new radar-evading jet as a report by the Pentagon’s chief tester found fault with early versions of the plane’s radar, pilot helmet & other systems…
...Defense officials said they were not surprised by the negative tone of the report given Gilmore’s views, but said it included no “showstoppers” that jeopardized the program, which must complete several more years of development before it moves into combat testing and is declared ready for operational use.
The report reviewed an “operational utility evaluation” conducted by the Air Force last year before it decided to start training seasoned pilots to fly the F-35 fighter. The training lasts 3 months and includes time in the classroom, on sophisticated simulators, and in the air. This year, the Air Force says it plans to train about 72 pilots & 711 mechanics to maintain the new planes. The first official class just completed the academic portion of their training & are now taking to the skies....
...The Air Force’s Air Education and Training Command, which approved the start of training in December, said it believed the training system was perfoming adequately and should continue.
Lockheed, the prime contractor on the F-35 program, said it agreed with the Air Force’s decision to start training pilots on the F-35, and said it was confident that the service was able to conduct safe and effective flight training operations. It said it would continue to refine the operating and tactical procedures for the jet as needed.
Joe DellaVedova, spokesman for the Pentagon’s F-35 program office, said Gilmore’s latest report was based on the Air Force’s report about its evaluation, which had found no reason to hold off on training experienced pilots to fly the new plane. He said the Air Force & F-35 program office already knew about the issues raised in the report & were working to resolve them....”