Delete comment from: Elements Of Power
Informative article but IMO the proper comparison would be to an F-16 Block 60 rather than legacy aircraft whose aerodynamics have suffered due to additional external loads imposed by iterative upgrades and range requirements non-optimal to its original design. An apples to apples comparison would be to an F-16 Block 60 with fully fueled CFT's and 4 AMRAAMS on hard points. Equivalent range and combat load out. Drag index less than or equal to 50. Total weight around 36,000 lbs. Thrust of 32,500 lbs with the new GE engine on afterburner. You'll be looking at moderately higher transonic acceleration than the A model. Faster sustained turns given you're not lugging around all that external hardware. And overall superior raw speed and aerodynamic performance excepting low speed maneuver and AOA. So with the most modern variant of the F-16, I would not characterize the F-35 A's performance as "F-16 like." But rather F/A-18 Super Hornet like." For which it seems almost identical aerodynamically.
Feb 24, 2015, 7:18:56 PM
Posted to The F-35 and the Infamous Transonic Acceleration ‘Spec’ Change: