Interview with an F-35 pilot

[Peter1469]

Interview with an F-35 pilot

Short and no real details, just general impressions.

Lots of people love the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, one of the most advanced, stealthiest warplanes on the planet. And lots of people loathe it, pointing to the ballooning costs and arguing America's newest fighter is more flash than function. But what's it like to fly it?

Despite all the public acrimony about the plane, we haven't heard much from the men and women who will strap into the $#@!pit. So, with F-35s now entering service in the U.S. and abroad, Popular Mechanics asked Air Force pilot and host of “The Professionals Playbook” podcast, Major Justin “Hasard” Lee, what it takes to fly the fighter.

The F-35's ability to integrate all that information into an easy-to-interpret display doesn’t just benefit one pilot. As Lee points out, that integrated feed improves the situational awareness of any other aircraft around an F-35.

“Advanced sensors, sensor fusion, and networking capabilities allow us to be the ‘quarterback’ in the air,” Lee says. “Because ‘4th-gen’ fighters will be around for several decades, a significant part of our job is maximizing their potential. We can let them know where the enemy is by voice or over the network.”

Read the entire article at the link.

[jigglepete]

I can't wait to see them flying over my state!