Marine F-35 pilots who switched over from the Harrier jump jet have had to unlearn almost everything they know
Marine Corps pilots transitioning from the retired Harrier jump jet to the F-35 Lightning II face significant challenges in unlearning ingrained flight instincts. While the F-35 automates many physical tasks, it requires pilots to manage a vastly different data-heavy interface and flight control system.
Why it matters
This highlights the human-factors challenges in military aviation as the armed forces modernize their fleets with more complex, software-dependent fifth-generation aircraft.
A Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit prepares to depart the USS Makin Island off the coast of California. Staff Sgt. Michael Virtue/US Marine Corps Marine pilots moving from the newly retired Harrier to the F-35 must unlearn old instincts. The F-35 eases much of the physical work of flying, but gives pilots far more data to manage. Former Harrier pilots say breaking those patterns takes repeated simulator training and practice. The first time a former Marine Harrier pilot brings an F-35 fighter jet in to land on the deck of an amphibious warship, skills honed by hundreds of hours in the old jet might work against them in the new Lightning II.
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