Recent commentary on the F-35 fifth-generation fighter has centered around its firepower and stealth capabilities, but a recently released demonstration video depicts the fighter jet in a pleasantly different light.
Air Force’s official announcement of the new F-35A Lighting II Demonstration Team on December 4, 2018
If anyone was wondering what this new demonstration team would bring to the table, it seems clear now — with some acrobatic stunts the public has never seen out of an F-35 shown clearly in the videos
A clip from Capt. Capt. Andrew “Dojo” Olson’s Instagram page showcases the F-35A Lightning II in a series of dramatic aerial maneuvers, performed at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.
In this clip, Capt. Andrew “Dojo” Olson approaches from the left, executes a pitch-up to the vertical with the first corner of a square loop to the inverted. Then it gets really good.
Capt. Olson pulls back hard on the sidestick while inverted, backing off power and executing a quite tight loop. Once back to level flight, the F-35A begins a descending flat spiral at almost zero forward airspeeds.
There is about one full 360° flat spin as Dojo repositions to exit show right.
Then, the remaining videos include a high AOA (Angle Of Attack), slow speed pass and a few vertical maneuvers as well as what seems to be a leaf of a cloverleaf maneuver.
