Testing the waters! F-35C on deck!!!

Last year we loved the F/A-37 Talon model on the CVN-73 “USS George Washington” , but we knew that dream wouldn’t come true. 🙁

Well, in about 8 years this dream will come true!!! 😎 🙂

Testing the waters: F-35 model gives aircraft carrier previewBy John Kent

It looked so real that people wanted to know when it landed on the deck.

A full-scale mock-up of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter on board the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy beckoned crowds of wide-eyed youngsters, aircraft buffs and experienced Naval veterans. The model was on display during the aircraft carrier’s stops in Boston and New York City in late May and early June.

“I didn’t know the JSF was in service yet. When did this land on the carrier?” asked one perplexed Kennedy visitor during Fleet Week activities in New York.

With its realistic Navy markings, and with operational Naval aircraft surrounding it, the F?]35 mock-up was convincing enough to bamboozle more than a few onlookers. Lockheed Martin and Navy personnel on deck were kept busy explaining that the model was just for show, and the Navy would have operational F-35Cs flying off of carriers in about eight years.

Many Navy veterans celebrating Fleet Week expressed excitement over the prospect of the service’s first stealth fighter, with some retired fighter pilots voicing regret that they wouldn’t get a chance to fly it.

Fox News Network broadcast its May 27 morning show live from the flight deck of the carrier, where the F-35 model could be seen in the background. NBC’s Today show also covered the event, and CNN news anchor Soledad O’Brien interviewed Cdr. Scott Krambeck of the JSF Program Office during a walk-around of the mock-up. The model departed New York June 1, but remained on board the U.S.S. Kennedy as the carrier churned toward its home port of Mayport, Fla., following a brief stop in Norfolk, Va.

Crews set up the JSF full-scale model on deck of the U.S.S. Kennedy during its journey along the East Coast.

Source: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics “Star” – Testing the waters: F-35 model gives aircraft carrier preview