Some F-35 action from Lakenheath today (a few more added)

[Red Dot]

hi all,

 

The F-35s were awesome today at Lakenheath, so here are a few photos. They also show that RAM panels are far from smooth,

 

cheers

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Alpha Delta 210]

Very nice shots in lovely light, Andy. The last one is my favourite. 

[Petr]

It looks like latest generation of surface coat, where most of the surface has same color, am I right?

[DaveJL]

Lovely shots mate, will come in useful for reference when my Tamiya kit arrives!

[SprueMan]

Yes, its the new paint scheme, where nearly the entire plane has the same color.

 

Lovely shots of the plan! Really cool

[Red Dot]

11 minutes ago, DaveJL said:

Lovely shots mate, will come in useful for reference when my Tamiya kit arrives!

me too.

 

Thanks for the other comments too guys. From what i can see, the RAM panels are proud of the main surface and have rounded, soft edges. I bet Tamiya have them well moulded.

 

Andy

[mackem01]

Lovely set there - which end were you at?

[Red Dot]

We were at the Thetford forest end, parked by the estate entrance. The F-35's were doing pairs approaches with touch and goes, then staying low before climbing and turning over the end of the runway. With the morning light, it made for some perfect shots. These were all taken with a 500mm lens on a full frame camera.

 

Andy

[Richard E]

I think they are some of the best shots of the F-35 I've seen Andy.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[Red Dot]

Very kind of you to say, thanks

 

Andy

[JohnT]

Stop doing that. You will get folk saying they are starting to like the F35 with shots as good as those. Nice, very nice

[Latinbear]

I would echo Richard's comment. These are some of the best F35 images I've seen too. Beautifully crisp and really show off the aircraft's lines, lumps and bumps perfectly. Would be good to see more if you're minded to post them. Thanks Andy.

[Red Dot]

A few more by popular request! I hadn't noticed the unusual angle of the missile rails on the wing pylons before. Note that they are different on opposite sides of the aircraft (ignore this last bit. See later comments)

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[canberraman]

Terrific images Andy. You really can't beat Lakenheath when the sun is out, skies are blue and the jets are taking off from 06 in low sunlight.  Some of those topsides almost look air to air. Fantastic stuff!

 

Mark

[Red Dot]

Thanks Mark

[modelling minion]

Another great set of pics Andy, you certainly picked the right day to go.

 

🇺🇦

[Giorgio N]

I can only echo others' comments, these are really great pictures, thanks for sharing!

They do show well how complex the lines of this aircraft are, I know that many can't stand the F-35 looks but to me it's a very interesting subject.

[Red Dot]

44 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

Another great set of pics Andy, you certainly picked the right day to go.

 

🇺🇦

Certainly did Craig

34 minutes ago, Giorgio N said:

I can only echo others' comments, these are really great pictures, thanks for sharing!

They do show well how complex the lines of this aircraft are, I know that many can't stand the F-35 looks but to me it's a very interesting subject.

Thanks Giorgio

[PattheCat]

Another set of fantastic pictures @Red Dot. And precious reference.

Thanks.

 

Missile rails look like their attachment point is outboard of the pylon and on the last photo they are both pointing downwards. Variable geometry???

 

What did Locheed forget to put on that plane? I wonder if it's a microwave oven or a dishwasher 😁?

We'll probably never find out. Answer classified "Secret defense".

 

1 hour ago, Giorgio N said:

I can only echo others' comments, these are really great pictures, thanks for sharing!

They do show well how complex the lines of this aircraft are, I know that many can't stand the F-35 looks but to me it's a very interesting subject.

 

I completely agree Giorgio @Giorgio N. I am one of those who don't like the looks of the beast but find it an interesting subject in itself and as a kit to build.

No kit in the stash but it is a question of how I set my personal priorities (financial ones having quite some weight in it).

 

Also I don't particularly like overall grey jets. But with the appearance of agressor colour schemes, I'll most probably add a kit to the stash. When, that's another question.

 

Cheers.

 

Pat.

[Red Dot]

Cheers Pat. The actual missile rails are angled outwards (definitely not variable geometry!) Maybe for clearance issues but possibly for dual carriage.

 

I don't know what the right hand one is used for in the last photo.

 

Andy

[Red Dot]

Ignore that last statement, as the right hand one is the same as the left. It is just an illusion of difference created by the photo angle.

 

Andy

[PattheCat]

12 minutes ago, Red Dot said:

Ignore that last statement, as the right hand one is the same as the left. It is just an illusion of difference created by the photo angle.

 

Andy

 

Pardon my inappropriate use of the variable geometry term. I wanted to ask if the rails could be fixed (not move or did I really mean it .... uhm?  🤣  ) at different angles  depending on the intended payload arrangement.

Thanks for your answer.

[Red Dot]

I thought that was a bit over engineered! 😀

 

I have just looked at other photos online and the pylons are always the same, so they are like that for air flow and separation of stores I guess. They don't seem to be able to carry dual missile rails.

 

Andy

[Zephyr91]

Fantastic photos.   Just a thought.  I'm guessing the reason for the cant is purely to avoid any potential fouling of the missile rear fins with the moving trailing edge device.  One of the underside photos shows the missile fins close to the fixed part of the trailing edge.  A fully deflected "flaperon" would get very close if the launcher cant was not there.  As I say, just a thought. 

 

Rob.