A total of 14 maneuvers make up the F-35A Demo Team performance, many of which have never been seen by public audiences.
Taken on Feb. 25, 2019, at Luke Air Force Base (AFB) the cool video in this post features F-35 Demo Team full practice.
Capt. Andrew “Dojo” Olson, F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team commander and pilot has spent several months, designing, developing, and practicing the maneuvers of the all-new demo profile.
A total of 14 maneuvers make up the aerobatic performance, many of which have never been seen by public audiences.
“The maneuvers showcase the full envelope of the F-35,” said Olson. “On the slow end, we’ll get down to less than 100 miles per hour of airspeed, just barely hanging there but in complete control. Then on the high end, we’re going to take it up to just below the sound barrier for the high-speed pass. We’re also going to be pulling up to 9Gs, nine times the force of gravity, and carving the jet into the air at huge angles of attack of more than 50 degrees.”
Some maneuvers in the demonstration include: -High Alpha Half Cuban -Weapons Bay Doors Pass -Minimum Radius Turn to High Alpha Loop -Pedal Turn -Square Loop -Slow Speed to Power Climb with a Split-S Reposition -Inverted to Inverted Roll -Tactical Pitch.
Each air show demonstration is scheduled to last approximately 30 minutes. Half of the show will be spent performing jaw-dropping maneuvers and the other half performing the Heritage Flight profile with select vintage warplanes.
Olson said that he does not have a favorite maneuver but spoke about the Pedal Turn with enthusiasm.
“When you watch the ground footage from the pedal turn, it’s almost unbelievable to witness what you’re seeing,” he said. “Any inverted maneuver, where you’re up-side-down at negative 1G and hanging from the straps in the seat, is a really fun maneuver to do. You’re seeing the world from a whole different perspective.”
“Other demo teams may give you a sample of one or two of these maneuvers, but nowhere else will you see all of the best maneuvers on the planet combined into one epic demo,” Olson pointed out. “There’s no filler in this flight. It’s a light the afterburner and rage for 30 minutes kind of show.”
The F-35 Demo Team is scheduled to perform at air shows across the country in 2019. During their historic inaugural season, Olson and the team of 6 maintainers and support personnel plan to interact with as many air show attendees as they can.
Photo by U.S. Air Force