BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

It would seem fair to say that the most important component on an airplane is the engine. UAVs can fly without a cockpit.   Lifting bodies can fly without wings.  Without a method of propulsion, an aircraft is considered a glider.  An underpowered aircraft finds itself few fans.   Unreliable engines end up making the wrong kind of headlines. So, yeah...  Engines are a big deal.  Especially when it comes to $100 million jet fighters. When one reads news about the JSF, the fighter that will represent the vast majority of allied airpower for the next 30 to 40 years, headlines describing the F-35 engine as both "unreliable" and "costly" are bound to give one pause. A recent Pentagon Inspector General report slammed the JSF's Pratt & Whitney F135.  The report accounted of 61 instances where the engine did not meet the Pentagon's regulatory standards during inspection.  These issues were widespread, including project management, so...

For those of you have either away on vacation or living under a rock this past summer; the F-35 has had some major engine issues. Let us recap: On June 23rd, a F-35A caught fire prior to taking off at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The F-35A was suspended from flight status on July 3rd, just prior to the Independence Day long weekend.   This meant the JSF would be unable to make its planned international debut at the Queen Elizabeth 's naming ceremony . The F-35 would go on to miss the Royal International Air Tattoo scheduled for the next week. Then the Farnborough Air Show the week after that. Questions about the F-35's alternate engine, the GE F136, were quickly dismissed . In July, " excessive rubbing " in the engine was named as the culprit.   Shortly after, the JSF's grounding was lifted , but with severe restrictions. Those restrictions were relaxed somewhat  two weeks later. Two weeks later, restrictions were lifted further . Now ano...