Article

2016-08-17 Science & Technology

Pilots to Test Fix for F-35 Helmet ‘Green Glow' Problem

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Posted by Blossom Unains5562 2016-08-17 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11129 views ] Top

#1 A $400K helmet with no light dimmer switch? What's up with that?

Posted by Raj 2016-08-17 00:24|| 2016-08-17 00:24|| Front Page Top

#2 Designed by a committee.

Apparently of non-pilots.

Posted by CrazyFool 2016-08-17 02:06|| 2016-08-17 02:06|| Front Page Top

#3 Graft comes first, all other concerns are secondary.

The more graft the more contractors etc. involved the more complexity the more points of failure.

Worked for 3 months on the IS suite for Naval Air in Patuxent and the internal politicing was insane.

Posted by AlanC 2016-08-17 07:34|| 2016-08-17 07:34|| Front Page Top

#4 On a dark night it skewers outside light references for pilots.

Skewers, eh? With electronic chopsticks one assumes? A legion of editors strike again...

What about the high-g load these early helmets are putting on the pilots during ejection?

Posted by magpie 2016-08-17 08:29|| 2016-08-17 08:29|| Front Page Top

#5 Maybe they could put little tiny JATOs on the helmets to help during ejection?

Posted by gorb 2016-08-17 11:20|| 2016-08-17 11:20|| Front Page Top

#6 Perhaps the basic airframe of the F-35 is a good airplane, capable of doing everything they claim it can do.

Unfortunately the techies have loaded a good airframe up with a bunch of goobledegook software and avionics features that pilots don't need and only the REMFs want. Last I checked, the major hold up on the F-35 was that goshawful logistics software that monitored every nut bolt and screw on the poor beast and gave a running spit out of things to fix and parts to order...methinks the logistics package is the big boondoggle here.

The essence of a good weapons system is to keep it simple and easy to repair...how many MIT PhDs in computer science are going to be needed to do first echelon diagnostics on the software?

Posted by Sock Puppet of Doom 2016-08-17 11:40|| 2016-08-17 11:40|| Front Page Top

#7 SPOD no. The logistics pack tracks everything outside the aircraft as well. Logistics is a bad name for it, sensor fusion is better.

Posted by Shipman 2016-08-17 12:35|| 2016-08-17 12:35|| Front Page Top

#8 Took a few techies to make sure the idiot Spey and friends didn't leave the radar off the F-16.

Posted by Shipman 2016-08-17 12:37|| 2016-08-17 12:37|| Front Page Top

#9 I take it back SPOD it's not part of the fusion system.
Thanks for the info.

Posted by Shipman 2016-08-17 12:51|| 2016-08-17 12:51|| Front Page Top

#10 HUD afterglow?
I suppose they could close their eyes.

Posted by Skidmark 2016-08-17 18:05|| 2016-08-17 18:05|| Front Page Top

#11 Must eat at the same restaurant as those jokers who designed the last washer and dryer installation I was on.

Posted by swksvolFF 2016-08-17 18:43|| 2016-08-17 18:43|| Front Page Top

#12 400K is 100X any reasonable cost for a helmet with a display and a sound system, I don't care how advanced.

Posted by KBK 2016-08-17 22:54|| 2016-08-17 22:54|| Front Page Top

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