1st JSF Catapult launch video

[arrowdynamic]

1st JSF Catapult launch video from yesterday (July 27).
This is the Navy variant.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkNZfu3EdvA"]‪First F-35C catapult launch‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

[byrom1212]

Thats cool cant wait to see it catch a wire.

[Justinbrown1996]

Sweet plane!

[Tilladaddy]

I miss watching flight ops from the island or even the catwalks along the flight deck. Nothing like watching a F-14 Tomcat do an afterburner take off at night.

Thanks for the Video, that is really cool.

[TMC50]

tthats really awesome!

[bwssr]

how short was the take off?

[Zeeter]

how short was the take off?

Thats what I want to know..... looks super short

[arrowdynamic]

Here is the text of the press release:
The F-35C carrier variant completed another step toward initial ship trials as it launched from a land-based catapult at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., on July 27.

Watch the U.S. Navy F-35C Catapult Launch Video (YouTube, 00:53)

U.S. Navy test pilot Lt. Chris Tabert flew the milestone mission, which was the first of several planned catapult launch tests for the F-35C carrier variant.

Aircraft carrier catapult launches accelerate the F-35 to takeoff speed with full fuel and ordnance over a short, 300-foot power stroke, transmitting more than 250,000 pounds of pull force through the F-35’s nose gear launch system and structure.

The test aircraft, CF-3, arrived from the primary F-35C test and evaluation site Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., on Tuesday.