Originally Posted by
sandiego89
Are we talking about the jets arrival at the airshow or have we actually seen the full rehersal/actual F-35 display that will be flown on the key display dates at Oshkosh?
If we are just talking about the arrival I would not judge an act by their arrival- yes some announce their arrival with a bit more flair than others, but we should not expect a full on demo upon arrival. It is an arrival day after a long cross country flight, briefs to attend, checks on the jet as others mention, etc.
I agree it will likley be tame compared to full burner turns by a F-16 or the like, but perhaps after the weekend flying we can then better pronounce the calls of "worst demo ever, tame, boring, late, can't make a turn...."
It was the arrival. There will be no demo. The senior pilot - Col Niemi (a full colonel) - said in the briefing this morning that they (the USAF) are too busy getting the jet ready for IOC to divert resources to develop a demo routine, get it cleared by leadership, vet it for security, and train the pilots. I had an opportunity to speak with him last evening, and he had some interesting things to say about the aircraft, the program, his favorite aircraft, etc. Very candid in toto.