F-35 Cancelled, then what ?

[Engines]

Guys,

I have to agree with John Farley that the issue of deck heating (from various parts of the aircraft) seems to be one of those subjects that attract the ''Ah, but I bet you haven't thought of THIS....' type of comment, just in front of the 'I bet they'll have to modify/replace the decks' comment. Fair enough though, here are a few thoughts that might help the thread along.

As John so elegantly points out, the teams involved with STOVL aircraft are very well aware of the issues with pointing hot gas flows at any surface, be it asphalt, steel, or concrete. Research has been done, tests carried out, results analysed and designs adjusted/modified as required. (Incidentally, on F-35, this effort was led by quite excellent Brits using experience from the Harrier, then taking the depth of analysis, modelling and test to a whole new level).

Most importantly, on F-35 for sure, the customers were VERY well aware of the issues and made damn well sure that the design and test teams were getting the answers required.

And while I respect the right of anyone to have a go at LM, BAES or any other aircraft manufacturer (free forums and all that) it does seem obvious (to me at least) that they are probably not going to produce an aircraft that can't operate off potential export customers' platforms because it would melt decks.

The bottom line is that the F-35B is capable of working off any deck that can take the weight. As far as the IPP goes, its exhaust has proved to be entirely manageable. The original upward firing exhaust (which SpazSinbad posted above) had to be changed on the F-35B, as it took up too much space, cost too much fuel and added too much weight. The downward firing exhaust, as Whiteovies points out, is not a concern.

The main engine exhaust is the one to really watch, and here there has been more test and analysis than in any other STOVL programme. (All the test rigs have been built and operated in the UK, by the way). To date, the new coatings (e.g. Thermion) are looking very promising, and no showstoppers have (to my limited knowledge) been identified.

Trying to summarise - deck heating with the F-35B was a potential risk which the design and test teams have taken great care and pains over. As a result, it's not developed into a real issue.

I don't suppose for one minute that this one post will stop deck heating being raised again. However, it would be nice to discuss topics a bit more relevant to STOVL ops at sea.

Best regards as ever to all those working the details, doing the testing and applying the results at sea,

Engines