The Navy’s F-35C CV (Carrier Variant) version of the Joint Strike Fighter has finally landed on the USS Nimitz’s flight deck using a new arresting gear.
On Nov. 3, at 12:18 pm LT, a F-35C CF-3 with a new tailhook assembly, piloted by Navy test pilot Cmdr. Tony Wilson, successfully landed on the flight deck of USS Nimitz, marking the very first arrested landing of the costly 5th generation plane on a supercarrier.
The successful landing comes about three years after the F-35C proved unable to land on an aircraft carrier because of tailhook design issues.
At that time, during specific tests conducted at NAWC-AD (Naval Air Warfare Center – Aircraft Division) Lakehurst, the F-35C failed to engage the MK-7 arresting gear with a disappointing score of 0 successes in 8 attempts.
According to subsequent reports, root cause analysis pointed to some Arresting Hook System design issues. Aircraft geometry (a short distance between the Main Landing Gear tires and the tailhook point), a tailhook point design with scarce ability to scoop low-positioned cables, and poor tailhook hold-down performance in damping bounces relative to the deck surface profiles, made the earlier system ineffective.
The distance of 7.1 feet between the tires and the tailhook was too short and the responsive dynamics were such that the cable lay nearly flat on the deck by the time the tailhook point should have intercepted it for capture. Now, that technical hurdle seems to have been cleared.
Below is the video of the F-35C successfully completing its first landing aboard an aircraft carrier.
SEE ALSO: Why the Pentagon is spending so unbelievably much on the F-35