Even after being destroyed in serious accidents, the remains of two F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters will still remain in service. The fuselage of an F-35A and the cockpit of an F-35B will now be used for ground technician training.
Servicemen from the 3rd Detachment of the 372nd Training Squadron at Hill Air Force Base are preparing what’s left of the two F-35s. The pieces are no longer being junk to become important instructional tools.
The fuselage comes from an F-35A lost in an accident on May 19, 2020, at Eglin Air Force Base. Jet registration 12-5053 belonged to the 58th Fighter Squadron. The investigation revealed that the main cause of the accident was the fact that the aircraft landed too quickly.
The nose of the F-35B (vertical landing and takeoff version) was obtained from the Marine Corps (USMC). In September 2018, the plane, which belonged to the 501st Marine Fighter and Attack Squadron, crashed near Beaufort Naval Air Base. The causes of the accident were attributed to a faulty fuel pipe. In both cases the pilots ejected and were fine.
Now, the fuselage and cockpit of the two F-35s will be objects of study and instruction for future F-35 fighter mechanics and technicians. “After receiving the F-35A last year, the aircraft was decontaminated and protected, as well as the engine removed”, said Sgt. Andrew Wilkow of the 372nd TRS.
“We found that, except for the nose section, almost all components and systems inside the F-35A fuselage were in surprisingly good condition and ideal for use as training aids.”
Wilkow then enlisted the assistance and voluntary cooperation of Husqvarna to have the entire fuselage completely sawn in half lengthwise as a product demonstration.
With the fuselage sawed off, the parts will be mounted on brackets to be used in the instructions. In this way, students will have the opportunity to remove the outer panels and practice maintaining all components and systems in their normal orientation and position.
The front section of the F-35B had side panels missing, which required Sergeant Wilkow to work with the advanced composites program office at the base to manufacture replacement parts. He also managed to get a canopy fit for flight, but in new condition, to replace the part lost in the 2018 accident.
To receive the F-35s, a permanent training room is being prepared to house the training aids, converting and remodeling a large unused garage located in the training squadron building.
Technical Sergeant Dennis Corcoran explains that maintenance training was conducted with operational aircraft. This reality must change with these new tools
“Obviously, this is a significant challenge because many times units are unable to support training evolutions, simply due to operational commitments or the real need for jets to immediately return to flight status in order to maintain readiness requirements. of the squadron.”
Creating this indoor training facility will allow F-35 mechanics to receive “anytime” instruction on an entire F-35 in a climate-controlled environment, in addition to saving wear and tear on the service’s operating aircraft.
“I believe that creating training aids from salvaged aircraft, which the Air Force already owns and were destined to be scrapped, benefits everyone involved and the Air Force as a whole,” disse Wilkow.