I’ve worked flight lines, crawled under panels, and spent long hours in sims for both jets. Not a tourist visit. Real work. Sweat, tools, checklists, and that jet fuel smell that sticks to your clothes.
Quick note before we get rolling: the F-22 is the pure hunter. The F-35 is the team brain. I felt both truths, week after week. If you want the full no-filter download of those weeks, check out my expanded field notes here: F-35 vs F-22 – My Time on the Ramp, in the Sim, and Under the Hood.
- If you need air-to-air dominance: F-22.
- If you need a game plan with sensors and sharing: F-35.
For readers who want deep-dive specs, photos, and community insights on both fighters, the profiles on Air-Attack are a gold mine worth bookmarking.
Let me explain.
First: The Cockpit and “Brain Power”
The F-35 has a helmet that’s more than a helmet. The HMDS shows flight data, targets, even a ghost view through the jet thanks to those belly cameras. It’s a full-blown head-up and helmet-mounted display rolled into one, as this overview explains. During my fit session, they tweaked the pupil settings while I sat still and tried not to blink. Later, in the sim, I turned my head and the symbology followed like it read my mind. Slick. Sometimes too slick. At night I saw a faint green glow. It’s real, and it can be a pain. We kept wipes in the kit just for that visor.
The F-22 cockpit feels clean and fast. Big screens, tight HUD, no helmet display. It’s old-school in a good way. You glance, you know. In the sim, the flow from radar to shot felt simple and sharp. Less hand-holding, more instinct. One pilot put it this way to me on a hot July morning: “The Raptor doesn’t explain itself. It just goes.”
Two styles. The F-35 fuses data from everywhere and hands you a picture. The F-22 lets you shape the picture with speed and stealth. I liked both. I trusted the F-35’s picture more in busy air.
How They Move (And How That Feels)
I’ve watched both launch at Nellis with dust devils spinning across the ramp. The F-22 leaves like it’s bored. Short roll, steep climb, and then it’s gone—no drama. That thrust vectoring and supercruise punch don’t show off; they just erase distance. If you want a deeper dive into the Raptor’s stealth shaping, supercruise, and thrust-vector agility, there’s a solid breakdown right here. In the sim, a quick in-close turn feels like a snap and a slide, smooth as butter. It’s hard not to grin. If you’re curious about the real numbers behind those grins, my backseat ride report, How Fast Is a Fighter Jet Really?, breaks down the average speeds we actually see out there.
The F-35 steps out heavier. It’s strong, but you can feel the weight. It likes to plan the fight, not chase it. In the sim, set it up right and it’s quiet deadly from range. But if you’re late on a merge? You’ll work for it. Not bad—just different.
I once timed a pair of F-22 touch-and-goes while we waited for a deferred maintenance sign-off. Ten minutes, four passes, clean as a whistle. The crew barely spoke on the headsets. You could feel the routine. With the F-35, turns run longer, and the heat off that F135 engine… yeah, it cooks the air behind it. You don’t want to be the one who walks past the tail at the wrong moment. Ask my sleeves.
Noise, Heat, and Little Headaches
You know what? Heat matters when you live on the ramp. The F-35’s exhaust is a blast furnace. During a hot-pit refuel, we had chalk lines drawn as “no-go” zones. Fuel crew moved like chess pieces. It worked, but the risk felt higher. And if you’re one of the folks living just outside the fence line, that same exhaust and roar become a daily soundtrack—something I unpacked in Living Under the Flight Path.
The F-22 idles quieter than you’d think. At power, it’s a thunder roll, but at idle it’s… polite. Well, as polite as a Raptor gets.
Maintenance Reality: Panels, Paint, and Software
Here’s the thing. The F-22 skin is gorgeous and fussy. LO coating is its suit of armor. We did touch-ups with careful tape lines on the leading edges, then babysat the cure times like hawks. I once spent two hours on a tiny seam near a panel latch because the finish mattered at speed. Worth it, but not fun at midnight.
The F-35’s big headache used to be ALIS. Now it’s ODIN, and it’s better, though not perfect. I’ve had logins hang, and once we had a mission data load stall at the worst time. We rebooted, we waited, we grumbled. The jet flew, but it taught us patience. On the plus side, the F-35’s built-in checks catch a lot of gremlins early. When the computers behave, the crew moves fast.
Access? The F-35 gives you big, friendly panels in key spots. Smart layout, for the most part. The F-22 makes you earn it. Some fasteners hide like they don’t want to be found. I kept a custom tool roll just for Raptor jobs—marked in Sharpie, because I’m human.
Sensors and Sharing: Lone Wolf vs Pack Leader
During Red Flag, I watched an F-35 feed tracks to older jets on a big screen in the mission center. Target IDs popped up like breadcrumbs. Pilots came back calm, like, “Yeah, we saw them first.” That’s the F-35’s trick. It senses, fuses, and shares. It makes the whole squad better.
The F-22 plays quieter. It has strong sensors and tight comms, but it prefers to keep its cards close. It’s the scout that moves in shadow, then hits and slips away. When we paired it with F-35s, the mix was mean—in a good way. The Raptor clears the sky. The Lightning paints the map.
Parts and Cost (The Not-So-Fun Part)
Spare parts for F-22s can take a while. Small fleet, special bits. I’ve waited over a week for a simple latch that fit only one block. Not drama. Just time.
F-35 parts flow better now. Not perfect, but the pipeline feels open. Flight hour cost is down compared to what it was when I started seeing them. You can feel that on the schedule board—more green lines, fewer red ones.
Small Surprises I Didn’t Expect
- The F-35 helmet fit session felt like a dentist visit. Sit still, stare, don’t move. Worth it once set.
- The F-22 canopy tint looks gold in bright sun. It’s gorgeous. But when it needs work, prepare for delicate handling.
- The F-35 tire wear was a quiet chore. Not a scandal—just a steady drumbeat on the maintenance plan.
- Fuel smell? The F-22 leaks less stink onto your clothes. The F-35’s hot pits will perfume you for the day.
After a twelve-hour shift swapping panels on either jet, most of us just wanted a cold drink and a space to unwind. If you’re an LGBTQ+ aviator, maintainer, or aviation fan looking for a welcoming corner of the internet to debrief and connect, hop into the live rooms at GayChat, where you’ll find round-the-clock conversation, support, and plenty of off-duty camaraderie no matter where you’re stationed.
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So… Which Would I Pick?
If I’m sending a pair to win a sky fight right now, I pick the F-22. It’s a sword. Sharp, fast, and honest.
If I’m planning a full mission with friends in mixed jets and ground teams, I pick the F-35. It’s the brain and the glue. It sees more, shares more, and keeps the team synced.
Funny thing, though. The magic shows when they fly together.