F-35B pilots ramp up training for HMS Queen Elizabeth debut
Ramping up training ahead of debuting on Britains new carrier, ex-Fleet Air Arm pilot Peter Wizzer Wilson takes off from a replica ski jump in an F-35B.
Courtesy Connie Hempel / Royal Navy
Four test pilots are getting in last-minute training ready to take their specially-modified stealth fighters aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth next month.
They will conduct around 500 landings and take-offs on the 900ft deck of the future flagship – the first time the Portsmouth-based warship has hosted fast jets.
Courtesy Connie Hempel / Royal Navy
HMS Queen Elizabeth is striking out across the Atlantic – another first – after final preparations in the South Coast exercise areas.
Once in the US, 200 engineers and experts from the F-35 Integrated Test Force – based at Pax River air station 50 miles outside Washington DC – will embark with a myriad of sensors and data recorders to see how the state-of-the-art aircraft perform in various weather conditions/sea states and carrying various payloads.
The ski ramp was introduced on the previous generation of carriers to give Harriers extra lift, allowing them to take off at a slower speed/heavier weight than normal – and has been retained on the new flagships for the same reason.
Two specially-modified F-35Bs and four pilots – Mr Wilson from BAE, the RN’s Cdr Nathan Gray, Sqn Ldr Andy Edgell and a US Marine Corps aviator – will conduct the trials aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth in two phases of trials this autumn, trials broken up by a high-profile visit to New York.
Weather and serviceability permitting, the first deck landing on the RN's 65,000-tonne future flagship is earmarked for the last week in September.
The F-35B is now operational with the US Marine Corps but US ships do not feature the ski jump, which rises about 20ft above the regular deck.
'Carrier' pigeons on HMS Queen Elizabeth
Members of 845 Naval Air Squadron, RNAS Yeovilton, who are already onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth, had to conduct an unusual rescue mission before setting off to the States.
Courtesy Royal Navy
A pair of baby 'carrier' pigeons were found in a secret nest aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth – with no sign of their mother – shortly after the ship left Portsmouth on Saturday, before setting sail for the USA.
The chicks, christened ‘F-35’ and ‘Lightning’ by crew, were flown by a helicopter heading back to RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset, then handed over to the RSPCA at its rescue centre in West Hatch near Taunton.
“While our focus for the deployment is getting the new jets onboard for the first time, we are also prepared to conduct humanitarian relief, should we be called upon to do so. We just didn’t think that would be quite so soon!” said Queen Elizabeth’s Lieutenant Commander Lindsey Waudby.