F-35B STOVL Transition, Hover, and Return To Forward Flight - Farnborough Airshow
Why Aviation Stack Exchange recommends it
Aviation Stack Exchange askers cite it as visual evidence of the F-35B in hover and transition when asking how the aircraft stays stable, controls yaw, and handles its doors and intakes.
Recommended by 0 people across 0 different months, 2018 to 2022.
What it is
A 6.5 minute edited clip of the Lockheed Martin F-35B's display at the 2016 Farnborough Airshow, zoomed in on the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) transition, hover, and return to forward flight. It shows the lift fan doors, the swiveling engine nozzle, and the cleanup afterward, posted by the AIRBOYD channel.
What people said
Cites Silent Inky · 2018-07 · Aviation Stack Exchange · on “How can a VTOL aircraft control yaw while hovering?”
I watched this video [this video] of a F-35B performing a flight-hover-flight transition and was pretty impressed by the fact that it was able not only to control pitch and roll (which could be, I suppose, performed by differential power from engine and lift fan) but also yaw — while hovering (at 3:15 in the video). How does it do that? Bleed air ducts from the engines on the sides of the aircraft? (something alike to thrusters used to control attitude of spacecraft I suppose).
Cites AllTradesJack · 2019-02 · Aviation Stack Exchange · on “How does the F-35B not flip over during transition?”
[LINK] As the engine nozzle rotates, the lift-fan cannot. Wouldn't this imbalance of moments around the center of gravity result in the F-35 pitching up onto its back? As can be seen at 5:14 in this video: the F-35B is capable of transitioning from vertical hover to horizontal flight. It accomplishes this in part by gradually rotating the engine nozzle from the vertical position to the horizontal. Let us assume that the throttle input stays constant in the following scenario: As the nozzle rotates, the vertical component of its thrust is reduced (as the horizontal component increases) as $$thrust_{horizontal} = thrust \cdot \cos(\theta)$$ $\theta$ being the angle between the jet exhaust and
Cites Romeo_4808N · 2022-08 · Aviation Stack Exchange · on “Why do F-35B jets hover with their weapons bay doors partially open?”
This is an interesting phenomenon noted for F-35B [LINK] aircraft during vertical flight and vertical landing. They will do so with their weapons bay doors partially opened. Of interest, this only occurs during hover (ref 2:48 in the video above) but not in slow flight while the lift fan system is activated. I have never found the reason why this is so. Does anybody know if Lockheed Martin installed additional auxiliary air intakes inside the weapons bays to provide additional air to the engine during hover?