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Squadron Leader Edgell: “The Bedford Array Landing System is a formation of lights
embedded within the deck. When the ship is pitching, then the system compensates by
changing which lights are illuminated so that from the pilot’s perspective he has a fixed
aim point for landing. But, in reality, the aim point is actually moving up and down the
deck.”
Third, the UK carrier and its ski jump provided a way to better use deck space.
Gordon Stewart: “The ski jump offers improved take off performance compared to a flat
deck take off. For a heavily loaded jet, this translates into a shorter deck run or lower
wind over deck requirements, which offers the ship flexibility in how the deck is used.”
Fourth, based on all of the above, the UK was very successfully pioneering SRVL or
Shipboard Rolling Vertical Landings.
Squadron Leader Edgell: “Normally, RVL {a slow speed, fixed glidepath approach in the
semi-jetborne flight regime} is a land-based recovery option. Historically, when we took
Harriers back to a ship, we recovered via a vertical landing, which is purely jetborne
flight.
Given the culmination of various qualities of the F-35B, we can now conduct semi-jet-
borne rolling vertical landings onto the carrier, known as Shipborne RVLs. Using the
additional airflow over the wing, and the subsequent gain in lift, this approach pro-
vides flexibility in operations due to the extra ‘bring back’ - a term given to payload re-
turning to the carrier vice jettisoning prior to recovery.”
We then returned to the earlier discussion of the ITF approach and its future. But, prior
to that we asked Tom Briggs to clarify what has become almost the holy writ for some
analysts, namely, that the F-35B engine is a showstopper for the decks of the ships on
which it will land, because of the impact of engine heat on the deck.
Briggs: “We have focused on this from the beginning and it is clearly not a show stopper
— and, at this point, not even a serious issue.
Second Line of Defense Lessons Learned at Pax River
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