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Technology update
Boeing installs JSF engine, verifies stealth design
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Mechanics at Boeing's facility in Palmdale, CA, installed and pinned the JSF engine in only four hours. It took less than two hours to install the exhaust system into the airframe.
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Putting the finishing touches on its JSF demonstrator, Boeing installed the flight test engine, designated YF004. The engine had recently completed 45 h of acceptance testing at Pratt & Whitney's facility in West Palm Beach, FL. The company has also begun validating the radar, antenna, and stealth performance of its JSF concept.
Engine installation occurred more quickly than anticipated with the exhaust system installed in less than two hours and the engine mounted in only four hours. "We used 3-D design tools throughout the development program to simulate engine installation," said Steve Kyle, Boeing JSF Propulsion Manager. "This kind of installation performance is the product of our lean processes. It demonstrates how our effective engine removal and installation concept will sustain high JSF sortie rates in fleet operations."
According to Boeing, the YF004 engine met or exceeded requirements in all categories, including available thrust levels and engine operability. More than 900 h of sea level and altitude development testing was conducted at Pratt & Whitney and at the U.S. Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma, TN. The engine has also been subjected to more than 200 h of STOVL engine testing, from low to high power, and in transitions from conventional to STOVL operations. "In over 100 transitions on the test stand, they have been flawless – uneventful," said Kyle. "The transitions have been smooth and quick."
The Boeing JSF One Team has built a high-fidelity, full-scale JSF model to validate the concept's stealth characteristics.
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Boeing has also begun stealth performance evaluations on its JSF concept using a high-fidelity, full-scale aircraft model. The model will also be used to validate proprietary technologies in stealth supportability and maintainability. Testing is under way at the Boeing Compact Radar Cross-Section Test Range in Seattle, WA.
"The model is an extremely high-fidelity representation of our design and maintains close linkage with our overall vehicle configuration," said Fred May, Director of JSF aircraft development. "Our radar cross-section tests have already verified that we will meet service requirements for stealth. The final results will guarantee the validity of our estimates for both survivability and the maintenance of low-observable features."
According to May, the model's signature (stealth) components are flight-quality parts built in production shops, providing risk-reduction benefits in EMD cost and performance. Key features of the model include the antenna apertures for communication/navigation/identification and electronic warfare propulsion components, radar and radome, doors and access panels, moveable control surfaces, a functional weapons bay, specialized lighting and coatings, and a canopy.
Model design and construction was the culmination of efforts organizational wide including those members of the JSF One Team. Boeing Phantom Works was responsible for both technology integration and the design and manufacture of model hardware, including edge assemblies, door and panel seals, antennas, the radome, and exterior lighting and finishes. Team member Pratt & Whitney supplied propulsion system components, and Raytheon supplied a high-fidelity radar array and special optical windows. BAE Systems, Sanders, and Ball Aerospace also contributed to the model's development.
Frank Bokulich
Aerospace Engineering June 2000
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