In article ,
Fred J. McCall wrote:

Chad Irby wrote:

:But you should have a fairly concrete faith in aerodynamics, especially
:with an airframe that's already *flying*.

Final F-35C aircraft are already flying? Since when?

Early F-35 aircraft are already flying, and there's no way in hell
there's going to be enough change in the next year or so to knock 1/3
off of their range. If there was anything lke that sort of defect in
the aircraft, the more annoying Proxmire-types in Congress would be
soiling themselves in delight.

Yes, but what you CAN'T predict is what you're going to have to change
to make the thing actually work in real service. Those changes will
impact many things, including range, payload, fuel load, etc. It's a
fairly simple thing called "reality".

And, once again, you still haven't managed to mention any aircraft in
the last twenty years or so that's been off by even 20% in combat
radius, never mind the 33% you're claiming it's going to be for the
F-35. Hell, a 10% miss on any of the performance targets would be
getting headlines in Aviation Week...

To listen to you, test flight programs are totally unnecessary.
Sorry, but our present reality seems to strongly indicate otherwise.

Well, not that you've bothered to listen in the first place...

--
cirby at cfl.rr.com

Remember: Objects in rearview mirror may be hallucinations.
Slam on brakes accordingly.