Pax ski jump readied for future F-35B Lightning II launches 22 May 2014 Sarah Ehman
Pax ski jump readied for future F-35B Lightning II launches -- DCMilitary.com
"...The Pax River ITF partnered with ATR’s Geomatics and Metrology team to perform a high fidelity survey of the shore-based ski jump at Naval Air Station Patuxent River’s center airfield. The survey is a prerequisite to future F-35B flight testing by the Pax River ITF, the United Kingdom and Italy....
...said Bob Nantz, the Pax River F-35 ITF external environment and performance lead. “The significance of the Pax ski-jump shape is connected to aircraft loads and performance modeling. Ideally, the loads will never limit the launch weight or speed, thus allowing the maximum performance benefit.”...
...Hancock noted that the team achieved readings accurate to within one millimeter — approximately the thickness of a credit card.
“The razor-sharp accuracy of the Geomatics team’s survey is a key part of the process leading to future ski-jump operations at sea,” Nantz said."
http://www.dcmilitary.com/storyimage...-140529960.jpg
"U.S. Navy photo/Jennifer Amber The Atlantic Test Ranges Geomatics and Metrology team, from left, Fred Hancock, Sung Han and Warren Kerr survey the ski jump ramp that was assembled at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in 2009 to document potential deviations from the original design plan."
