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Less than two months after declaring the controversial F-35 Joint Strike Fighter ready for combat, the Air Force on Friday announced that it was temporarily grounding 15 of the jets after it discovered that insulation was “peeling and crumbling” inside the fuel tanks.

Full article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/che ... nsulation/

What a reliable beast of an aircraft!

One spent about two weeks in a hangar in Ohio recently after metal was found in the oil after an airshow. It had digested it's own oil pump.

That was the backup ship. The show primary caught a bird strike on arrival the day before the show.

F-35 is not having good luck.

It should be renamed to the Edsel II.

The Air Force said Friday that crews discovered that insulation in avionics cooling lines inside the fuel tanks was deteriorating.

Any other aircraft out there that use a similar arrangement for avionics cooling? Never heard of that before.

KFLLCFII wrote:

The Air Force said Friday that crews discovered that insulation in avionics cooling lines inside the fuel tanks was deteriorating.

Any other aircraft out there that use a similar arrangement for avionics cooling? Never heard of that before.

No idea but I've seen the patent for the components involved (on a Facebook group that was discussing this story) and they appear to be 29 years old. Presumably they were designed for something earlier than the F-35, maybe the F-117?