Posted 02.26.2010 at 3:15 pm
6 Comments
To perfect the vertical and short takeoff and landing ability of the F-35 Lightning II, test pilots have been taking off and landing at progressively shorter distances and slower speeds, building up to the final, true vertical boost. And today, engine manufacturers Pratt and Whitney released video of the slowest, shortest takeoff and landing yet, in which the jet cruises to a stop at 130 knots.
Aside from showing off just how versatile the plane is, the video also marks another salvo in an ongoing battle between Pratt and Whitney, who make the F135 engine currently powering the F-35, and General Electric and Rolls-Royce, who make the F136 replacement engine. The contract for F-35 engines is especially juicy, with multiple countries and multiple armed services all set to fly the new plane.
The fight, waged on the floor of Congress by representatives variously in the pocket of one company or the another, has even spilled into cyberspace. The F135 engine has its own Facebook page, as well as its own Twitter feed, both of which spend most of their time touting how the F136 engine is expensive and unnecessary. Not to be outdone, the F136 has ITS own Twitter feed, which lets followers know just how much better the F135 is than the F136.
Personally, I'm just upset that both of them set their status to "in a relationship" just when I thought they were starting to like me.
6 Comments
To comment, please Login.
Popular Tags
Technology
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 2013: American Energy Independence
Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more.
Popular on Popsci
Most Commented
Technology
- Defense Distributed's Cody Wilson On Being Told To Remove 3-D Printed Gun Plans: "We Win"
- Thieves Stole $45 Million From ATMs Because The U.S. Uses Absurd 40-Year-Old Technology
- A California State Senator Is Trying To Outlaw 3-D Printed Guns
- 2013 Invention Awards: Family Flier
- Autonomous X-47B Jet Fighter Makes Historic First Launch From An Aircraft Carrier
- U.S. Navy Spends $37 Billion On A Ship That Barely Works
- Time-Lapse GIFs Show Earth Transforming Over 25 Years
- How To Turn An AK-47 Into A Soup Ladle
- How The World's First 3-D Printed Gun Works
- Iran Unveils Absurd New Stealth Drone
Most Emailed
Technology
- 7 Reasons Why 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Is A Beginner's Guide To Star Trek [Spoiler Alert]
- America's Road To Energy Independence, Part 1
- Video: MIT's Cheetah Robot Trots, Then Gallops
- Mapping The Simpsons' Slow Descent Into Suckitude
- Google Bets $10.7 Million On Drone Intelligence
- Concept Skyscraper Generates Its Own Energy, Looks Like A Toilet Brush
- Robot Plane Flies Humans 500 Miles
- Google And NASA Team Up In Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab
- How NASA Could Save Kepler
- Inside The Army's Sunshine Simulator
Most Viewed
Technology
- 7 Reasons Why 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Is A Beginner's Guide To Star Trek [Spoiler Alert]
- America's Road To Energy Independence, Part 1
- Video: MIT's Cheetah Robot Trots, Then Gallops
- Mapping The Simpsons' Slow Descent Into Suckitude
- Google Bets $10.7 Million On Drone Intelligence
- Concept Skyscraper Generates Its Own Energy, Looks Like A Toilet Brush
- Robot Plane Flies Humans 500 Miles
- Google And NASA Team Up In Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab
- How NASA Could Save Kepler
- Inside The Army's Sunshine Simulator
Online Content Director: Suzanne LaBarre | Email
Senior Editor: Paul Adams | Email
Associate Editor: Dan Nosowitz | Email
Assistant Editor: Colin Lecher | Email
Assistant Editor: Rose Pastore | Email
Contributing Writers:
Rebecca Boyle | Email
Kelsey D. Atherton | Email
Francie Diep | Email
Shaunacy Ferro | Email
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2012 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
I wonder if you can hover indefinitely or if the system is similar to the Harrier in which the engine needs gallons and gallons of water for VTOL before the engine gets too hot and explodes (not necessarily true, but close enough). Unlike the movie depiction in True Lies, the Harrier can't hover for 30 minutes at a time.
The Harrier has the capability to inject 49 gallons of water over a period of 90 seconds into the HP turbine. It is only required in combination with ambient temperature. As long as the temperature is within limits, water is not required and the only thing that limits the Harrier in the hover is "engine counts". The aircraft not only uses hours as a normal measurement of life but also counts. These are a direct reflection of EGT and time. I am pretty sure that the F35 will have a similar system to monitor hover engine life. After all the engine is close to max power in a similar way to take off, but unlike take off it is only for a short time and then the throttle is retarded to cruise. Sitting in the hover will eat the "life" of an engine quite quickly no matter who built it or what airframe it is in.
Should we worry about the quality of the engine when P&W can't even spell the month correctly ?
Not to be outdone, the F136 has ITS own Twitter feed, which lets followers know just how much better the F135 is than the F136.
you mean the...F136 is than the F135
unless your taking clever sides on this one.
VTOL flight is just like helicopter vertical flight. Hovering requires lots of power and lots and lots of fuel, neither of which is limitless.