The F-35 thread, Mk II
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Just bureaucratic regulations. Just have to wait to see if using the alloy breaks the rules and, if it does, wait even more months to get the right red stamp on a waiver to use the stocks they’ve already got and the ones already installed in jets due for delivery.
”The Pentagon has temporarily stopped accepting deliveries of the Lockheed Martin-made F-35 after it found that an alloy used in magnets on the jet’s turbomachine pumps was produced in China.
The F-35 program office has assessed that the Chinese alloy does not present a safety or security risk that could expose the stealth jet to cyber attacks or other malfeasance, and an alternative source for the alloy has already been identified, F-35 JPO spokesman Russell Goemaere said in a statement. As a result, there are no plans to ground the F-35 fleet or return jets already accepted to Lockheed.
However, it is unclear when F-35s with magnets made from the new alloy will begin rolling off the production line, and if the Chinese alloy is found to violate defense acquisition regulations, it would take a national defense waiver for deliveries to resume.”…..
”The Pentagon has temporarily stopped accepting deliveries of the Lockheed Martin-made F-35 after it found that an alloy used in magnets on the jet’s turbomachine pumps was produced in China.
The F-35 program office has assessed that the Chinese alloy does not present a safety or security risk that could expose the stealth jet to cyber attacks or other malfeasance, and an alternative source for the alloy has already been identified, F-35 JPO spokesman Russell Goemaere said in a statement. As a result, there are no plans to ground the F-35 fleet or return jets already accepted to Lockheed.
However, it is unclear when F-35s with magnets made from the new alloy will begin rolling off the production line, and if the Chinese alloy is found to violate defense acquisition regulations, it would take a national defense waiver for deliveries to resume.”…..
F-35B ZM152 Accident
"During their individual tasks, the engineers removed some elements of the Red Gear, but no entry was required in the aircraft technical log upon fitment or removal. A local accounting procedure was in place, but this was not used for the mass fitting and removal of Red Gear during the Suez transit. No muster was conducted prior to flying to ensure all the Red Gear had been removed."
"Prior to sinking, the left-hand intake blank was observed to float clear of ZM152's wreckage and was subsequently impounded."
https://assets.publishing.service.go...rim_Report.pdf
"Prior to sinking, the left-hand intake blank was observed to float clear of ZM152's wreckage and was subsequently impounded."
https://assets.publishing.service.go...rim_Report.pdf
"Prior to sinking, the left-hand intake blank was observed to float clear of ZM152's wreckage and was subsequently impounded."
As an ignorant civvy tax-payer, I ask how come the pre-flight walk-around by the pilot failed to spot the blank ......... is it so deep inside as to be invisible.?
A £10 lanyard attached to the blank with a 'pip pin' at the other would enable attachment to the aircraft structure - quick removal and security
Asking simply because I don’t know.
Isn’t the pilot accountable , for missing this during the walk round?
Does anyone know what happened to the pilot?
Dismissed / off flying / slap on wrist ?
That’s an expensive piece of kit to throw away with an avoidable mistake & most people would have been ‘canned.
Can anyone tell me the outcome for the pilot?
Isn’t the pilot accountable , for missing this during the walk round?
Does anyone know what happened to the pilot?
Dismissed / off flying / slap on wrist ?
That’s an expensive piece of kit to throw away with an avoidable mistake & most people would have been ‘canned.
Can anyone tell me the outcome for the pilot?
Asking simply because I don’t know.
Isn’t the pilot accountable , for missing this during the walk round?
Does anyone know what happened to the pilot?
Dismissed / off flying / slap on wrist ?
That’s an expensive piece of kit to throw away with an avoidable mistake & most people would have been ‘canned.
Can anyone tell me the outcome for the pilot?
Isn’t the pilot accountable , for missing this during the walk round?
Does anyone know what happened to the pilot?
Dismissed / off flying / slap on wrist ?
That’s an expensive piece of kit to throw away with an avoidable mistake & most people would have been ‘canned.
Can anyone tell me the outcome for the pilot?
I saw that & the lack of responses so far thanks Langley’.
A civvie’d be collecting their P45 rather rapidly but I don’t know how things work in our armed services.
It costs ‘a few quid’ to train military pilots & there can’t be that many on the f35 , would that too have a bearing on disciplinary action?
Or will some blame unfairly fall on a junior & non commissioned member of the deck crew?
Not asking out of devilment , only curiosity.
A civvie’d be collecting their P45 rather rapidly but I don’t know how things work in our armed services.
It costs ‘a few quid’ to train military pilots & there can’t be that many on the f35 , would that too have a bearing on disciplinary action?
Or will some blame unfairly fall on a junior & non commissioned member of the deck crew?
Not asking out of devilment , only curiosity.
It doesn't state in the summary why the intake blank was actually misplaced inside. I can hazard a guess, and then the maintainer in question simply forgot about it. Don't know the intake profile so I won't speculate on pilot/see-off crew complicity during the walkround.
If the two covers were connected by cord under the belly with warning flags, the accident probably wouldn't have happened and the increased FOD risk from the attaching parts would've been worth it.
Just an old maintainer's opinion....
If the two covers were connected by cord under the belly with warning flags, the accident probably wouldn't have happened and the increased FOD risk from the attaching parts would've been worth it.
Just an old maintainer's opinion....
Yes, seems very sensible. What baffles me is that it seems so different from the RAF procedures and checks that I saw on a day to day basis on stations, in hangars, every tool accounted for, toot the horn entering a hangar, escorts when driving round the peri track, FOD awareness, check check check.
The accident is almost unbelievable, in that "someone" should have designed it out.
The accident is almost unbelievable, in that "someone" should have designed it out.
It was Barnes Wallis who said "It's almost impossible to make anything fool proof as the fools are so damn clever"
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These are decrepit UK F-35B engine inlet covers: https://theaviationist.com/wp-conten...Westlant_1.jpg
FROM: https://theaviationist.com/2019/10/2...craft-carrier/
Furstly but not leastly a slightly side on view of an USMC F-35B engyn inlet coverup aboard USS Wasp wayback.
FROM: https://theaviationist.com/2019/10/2...craft-carrier/
Furstly but not leastly a slightly side on view of an USMC F-35B engyn inlet coverup aboard USS Wasp wayback.
Last edited by SpazSinbad; 10th Sep 2022 at 08:48. Reason: + phot
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I'm alert but not ALAMYed. Are these the type of F-35B FOD that went down the intake? My two examples above appear to be F-35B specific at sea. Perhaps ashore there are different FOD covers? USMC on dry land: img-20170306-020147-794_orig.jpg (540×531) (weebly.com)
Last edited by SpazSinbad; 10th Sep 2022 at 13:05. Reason: + JPG