Spaz,
Excellent posts and thank you. They are a useful counterweight to the perception held by many in the UK that the F-35C was a 'no risk' solution compared to the F-35B. They also show that the business of arrested recoveries is a complex interplay between the aircraft and the arresting gear on the ship, with a healthy dose of pilot technique thrown in. The USN make it look easy, but that's because they are very, very good at it.
They also have a really excellent culture of open reporting and discussion, as shown by the link to the 'Paddles Monthly' you provided. I think it's a great example of how to identify, address and manage safety issues within a professional flying community, rather than relying on a massive regulatory structure to do it all. The UK should take note.
Your links also show progress on the F-35C tail hook issue - clearly, they have some work to do, but they look as if they are moving in the right direction. A couple of points. Firstly, from my experience on the programme, the tail hook design was subjected to close examination by the USN experts, and compared against all applicable standards and requirements. It passed. In particular, there was no standard for wheel to hook distance. Bottom line - they didn't 'get it wrong'.
Secondly, approach speed to the wire was the only CV specific KPP applied to the programme, and that recognised the fact that it's going to be a challenge for an LO aircraft that can't use many of the lift enhancing devices available to a conventional design, like slotted flaps. The 'half vs full flap' discussion you mentioned will be a live one if it increases the F-35C trap speed.
Finally, wire trampling and whipping is a well appreciated phenomenon, and LM and the USN will factor it into any solution. It's one of those pesky naval aviation thingies that land based aviators (understandably) don't know much about. Sadly, that lack of knowledge has led to some comment in the UK Press that bordered on the hysterical.
Best regards as ever to all those calm heads working the issues
Engines