F-35 TRAINING AT EGLIN CONTINUING TO MOVE FORWARD

As you can see, the F-35 Training Program at Eglin is alive and well and moving forward. Instructors instructing, students learning, and maintenance personnel getting ready to maintain the planes upon their arrival. Most people don't realize the advances Eglin AFB has made in preparing this state of the art facility for the most advanced Fighter in the WORLD!!! Okay folks, it is happening, just as the Army 7th Special Forces is coming. It truly amazes me everyday when I hear folks say, I not sure these folks are coming. BASICALLY FOLKS. It is NATIONAL SECURITY that these groups and others come. SIMPLE AS THAT.




Pilots at Eglin Air Force Base are one step closer to the cockpit of a next-generation fighter jet. In a ceremony at Eglin's 33rd Fighter Wing Thursday morning, pilots from the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps were fitted for fireproof flight suits, survival equipment and other gear they will wear while piloting the F-35 Lightning II, a new fighter jet scheduled to arrive at the base in the fall. "We fit them from their underwear all the way to the outer gear they would wear in cold weather," said Randy Epperly, the manager of the pilot-fitting facility at Eglin. The F-35, previously known as the Joint Strike Fighter, will be used by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps as well as eight foreign militaries. Eglin will be a primary training facility for F-35 crew and maintenance personnel. The first F-35 is scheduled to arrive at the base this fall. "We're not 100 percent, but we've got everything here to get started so when the training does start, they'll be ready to go," said Dale Hensley, Lockheed Martin's deputy for the support equipment program. The three pilots fitted Thursday will serve as flight instructors for the F-35. "This is the first big step to getting in the airplane, and we're looking forward to flying it this fall," said Marine Corps Maj. Tyler Bardo, one of the pilots fitted Thursday. The defense department has ordered three variants of the aircraft — a conventional takeoff and landing version for the Air Force, a carrier-based variant for Naval forces, and a short takeoff and vertical-landing variant with capabilities similar to the Harrier jump jet for the Marine Corps. Bardo, who has flown Harrier jump jets on combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he is excited about being one of the first pilots selected to fly the F-35. "There's a wealth of outstanding pilots in the Navy and Marine Corps ... I got lucky," he said. "I think every one of us is extremely honored to be one of the first fighter pilots in this new jet." Lockheed Martin officials used the event to praise the aircraft's technological advances and futuristic control interface. Chief among the advancements: a helmet-mounted display that gives pilots a virtual 360-degree view of the plane's surroundings. The display is linked to external video cameras that allow pilots to "see" through the floor and other solid parts of the aircraft.
The high-tech helmets require a perfect fit, and each has a custom liner made with a laser scan of the pilot's head. Navy Capt. Mike Saunders, one of the pilots fitted Thursday, voiced his approval while trying on a highly polished and custom-painted version of the helmet.
"This helmet feels good ... I'll take one," Saunders said, with a touch of fighter-pilot understatement. "I know they're not cheap."