Gunfighter Skies 2014 Airshow

thunderchief said:

You sure have a lot of faith in that aircraft

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Chief, this promises to be a very fine airplane, lots of airplanes have growing pains, and in truth this is the most sophisticated aircraft ever built, and there have certainly been more than a few, but it will have a unique spot, and likely will fly very well. In practice those who have transitioned into the F-35 have been very impressed... Remember, I was an early skeptic, but I am feeling much more confident now that they have spent some serious time working the kinks out....

Obi Wan Russell said:

I'll have you know I got closer than this to an F-35B back in july 2008 on the deck of HMS Illustrious in Portsmouth... admittedly it was a fibre glass mock up (the same one seen on the ramp of HMS Queen Elizabeth at her naming ceremony earlier this year), but a static plane is a static plane! Great pics btw

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Well you are OBI WAN after all??? I'm talking about us mere mortals here Jedi!

Great pictures Jeff! There are more platforms than the Reno Air Shows I've seen. The F-35 is awesome, and I got to see it in person one of these days.

Thanks for sharing Jeff.

I'd very much like to visit the US one day for one of your airshows.

Cheers.

Beautiful Jeff !

Thunderbirds C-17 was also present ? really paint with US colors or fan art idea ?

What luxury get it to move for a acrobatic patrol

For F-35 touch with eyes only... remenber me Neuron UAV was exposed under a plastic bubble...

thunderchief said:

You sure have a lot of faith in that aircraft

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I have faith in the people building the aircraft, the avionics, the electronics and the software, as well as the engines.

I have worked with people in the past at Lockheed, at Vought, at Grumman and Boeing and seen what they can do.

Are their growing pains? Of course.., and some of them serious. But that is unavoidable when you are attempting to make advances like these. If we stay the course, the F-35 will be an absolutely amazing strike aircraft.

A few more Thunderbird pics:

Jeff Head said:

I have faith in the people building the aircraft, the avionics, the electronics and the software, as well as the engines.

I have worked with people in the past at Lockheed, at Vought, at Grumman and Boeing and seen what they can do.

Are their growing pains? Of course.., and some of them serious. But that is unavoidable when you are attempting to make advances like these. If we stay the course, the F-35 will be an absolutely amazing strike aircraft.

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It also bears telling that the deep wellspring of knowledge from developement and production of the F-22, is the fountain from which the JSF flows,,,,, call it Raptor Light if you will, but the JSF is an 8/10 Raptor,,,,,,,..... Very L/O, and Very AWARE of everything going on around it, and fused with various and sundry other platforms, sharing info and back and forth..... It will likely operate at night on a first in, in concert with the Raptors flying high cover and taking care of the truly HOT stuff. Underestimating this aircraft will likely prove a fatal mistake.

Air Force Brat said:

It also bears telling that the deep wellspring of knowledge from developement and production of the F-22, is the fountain from which the JSF flows,,,,, call it Raptor Light if you will, but the JSF is an 8/10 Raptor,,,,,,,..... Very L/O, and Very AWARE of everything going on around it, and fused with various and sundry other platforms, sharing info and back and forth..... It will likely operate at night on a first in, in concert with the Raptors flying high cover and taking care of the truly HOT stuff. Underestimating this aircraft will likely prove a fatal mistake.

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Are they planning to build any more Raptors as the F-35 JSF gets into large number production? The F-35 and F-22 are going to work in tandem in the future, but the ratio will be like 10 JSF for every one Raptor.

Equation said:

Are they planning to build any more Raptors as the F-35 JSF gets into large number production? The F-35 and F-22 are going to work in tandem in the future, but the ratio will be like 10 JSF for every one Raptor.

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I'd love to say yes, but of course not, the odds of the Raptor line seeing the light of day are 100 to 1, but the Raptor is very stealthy, and very fast, and flies very high,,,, all it need do is escort the 10 or so F-35s it will escort, while the F-35 has great situational awareness, they raptor will hold the high-ground, like the 50BMG man, that vantage alone will put it above many threats, and sensor fusion will enable the Raptor to target for the F-35s much like a mini awacs. It is likely the Raptor will operate as a two ship, picking off the sticky buggers from above, but it will function very well in conjunction with the F-35s, as the F-35s were designed from the outset to be tagged with the Raptor. While the Raptor will be spread thin, with any element of success, the F-35 will be built in numbers.