«Breaking News» F-35s conduct first night time landings on HMS Queen Elizabeth

HMS Queen Elizabeth has conducted its first night time flight operations involving the F-35B Lightning jets. 

The Royal Navy's largest warship is currently conducting flight operations off the US East Coast. Last week, the first of the stealth jets landed on the deck.

During the most recent exercises, the pilots first landed without the aid of any night vision technology, using the available ambient light to safely touch down on the deck. 

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F-35B jets have landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth at night for the first time during the latest planned sea trials

Pilots of the aircraft practised landing on deck first without the aid of night-vision and then using their high-tech helmets

This image shows an F-35B hovering over the flight deck as the aircraft lined itself up to land on a precise spot

Later, the pilots used their night-vision capability.  

Commander James Blackmore, Commander Air on HMS Queen Elizabeth, said: 'The concept of night flying isn’t difficult for us. What we are looking at is what the new lights on board HMS Queen Elizabeth look like at night from the perspective of the F-35Bs.

'We’ve already done that with the rotary wing aircraft earlier this year, but now it’s crucial that we understand how suitable they are for the F-35s to operate at night from the carrier. First indications are that they are in good order for both the aided and unaided perspectives.'

Squadron Leader Andy Edgell of the RAF and Royal Navy Commander Nathan Gray were the first pilots to land on board Queen Elizabeth on an F-35B. 

According to the Royal Navy, Queen Elizabeth has been fitted with special LED lighting which does not flare up when pilots use their night vision equipment. 

Queen Elizabeth is fitted with special LED lights which do not interfere with the pilot's night vision capability

According to the Royal Navy, Queen Elizabeth should be operational by 2021 once she has completed her sea trials 

Chief Test Engineer Andrew Maack said landing at night presents different challenges than approaching an aircraft carrier during the day when there are plenty of cues to tell the pilot's brain what the relative motion is between the jet and the ship

The aircraft hover once they reach 100 feet and are guided to their landing spot by a flight deck officer before touch down

A pair of F-35Bs were involved in the first night operations exercise which took place in calm conditions 

The single-engine jets blast off the end of a ski-ramp at more than 100mph without the aid of a catapult 

But the pilots also train to operate from the vessel without the aid of their night vision.   

Chief Test Engineer Andrew Maack said: 'In daytime there are cues that tell the pilot’s brain what the relative motion is between the airplane and the ship.

'At night, especially very dark night, all those cues go away and you become dependent on exactly what the lights are and what the sight of those lights looks like. It’s something you can’t translate in your mind ahead of time – you don’t know it until you see it.'

Queen Elizabeth began her latest sea trials having left Portsmouth in August having crossed the Atlantic to the US East Coast. 

According to the Royal Navy, Queen Elizabeth should be operational from 2021. 

So far, the UK has taken delivery of 16 F-35Bs of a planned fleet of 138. The aircraft used during these current trials are owned by the United States, although the pilots are British. 

The night flight operations gave the crew of the deck important training in handling the jets during the hours of darkness

Squadron Leader Andy Edgell was among the pilots who were involved in the recent night flying session 

The F35-B rotates its engine and opens a fan and deploys two ducts to provide stability while hovering about the flight deck

Inside Britain's most powerful warship, HMS Queen Elizabeth

At 280 metres long, with a lifespan of half a century and a flight deck of four acres, HMS Queen Elizabeth is Britain's largest and most powerful warship ever built.

Here are the facts and figures behind the vessel which was officially commissioned into the Royal Navy December 7, 2017

HMS Queen Elizabeth, pictured, weighs some 65,000 tonnes and has a top speed of 25 knots and a four-acre flight deck

The vessel has a crew of 700, although that will increase to 1,600 when she has a full complement of F-35B jets  

The Commanding Officer is Captain Jerry Kyd, pictured, who is responsible for guiding Queen Elizabeth through her sea trials 

• The aircraft carrier weighs 65,000 tonnes and has a top speed in excess of 25 knots.


• A number of ship building yards around the country were involved in the build - these include Govan and Scotstoun in Glasgow, Appledore in Devon, Cammell Laird in Liverpool, A&P on the Tyne in Newcastle and Portsmouth.


• A total of 10,000 people worked on construction of the ship, made up in sections at yards around the UK and transported to Rosyth, Fife, where it was assembled.


• It is the second ship in the Royal Navy to be named Queen Elizabeth.


• The ship has a crew of around 700, that will increase to 1,600 when a full complement of F-35B jets and Crowsnest helicopters are embarked.


• There are 364,000 metres of pipes inside the ship, and from keel to masthead she measures 56 metres, four metres more than Niagara Falls.


• Facilities onboard include a chapel, a medical centre and 12-bed ward, staffed with GPs, a nurse and medical assistants, as well as a dentist and dental nurse.


• There are also five gyms on the warship which include a cardiovascular suite, two free weight rooms and a boxing gym.


• Regular fitness circuit sessions and sporting activities such as basketball and tug of war are held in the hangar and on the flight deck, with weights and other items stored inside the flight deck ramp.


• Captain Jerry Kyd said his favourite part of the ship was the laundry, which he called 'huge and bespokely built'.


• There are five galleys on the warship which is where the food is cooked and those on board eat their meals everyday. This includes two main galleys, the bridge mess and an aircrew refreshment bar.


• The distribution network on board manages enough energy to power 30,000 kettles or 5,500 family homes.


• Its flight deck is 280 metres long and 70 metres wide, enough space for three football pitches.


•  The entire ship's company of 700 can be served a meal within 90 minutes, 45 minutes when at action stations.


• Recreational spaces enjoyed by the crew feature televisions and sofas, as well as popular board games including the traditional Royal Navy game of Uckers.


• Each of the two aircraft lifts on HMS Queen Elizabeth can move two fighter jets from the hangar to the flight deck in 60 seconds.


• The warship has a range of 8,000 to 10,000 nautical miles, and has two propellers - each weighing 33 tonnes and with a combined 80MW output of power - enough to run 1,000 family cars or 50 high speed trains. 

hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2018/10/03/f-35s-conduct-first-night-time-landings-on-hms-queen-elizabeth/
Main photo article HMS Queen Elizabeth has conducted its first night time flight operations involving the F-35B Lightning jets. 
The Royal Navy’s largest warship is currently conducting flight operations off the US East Coast. Last week, the first of the stealth jets landed on the deck.
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