What I don’t know is whether the F-35 uses the legacy regulator which may not be the source of the increased work of breathing that OBOGS can result in, or if it uses an electronic regulator.
@hindsight2020 or one of our other current mil aviators will have better info though.
I am indeed familiar with the literature you posted, since we were in the thick of it during the 2016-2018 time frame in the T-6.
To your question, the regulators between the two systems perform the same functionality. They provide forced pressure on EMER setting (red lever) in order to keep positive pressure against smoke and fumes, and/or additional PaO2 equivalent during cabin decompresion above angels 25 cabin. At any rate, the only difference between the two systems is that in the case of OBOGS, the electronic concentrator provides different O2 effective concentration schedule (lever typically labeled MAX) than what the 100% concentration setting of the LOX-system associated regulator provides us. This is largely due to the supply mechanisms of oxygen being different in OBOGS (electronic cyclic multi-membrane/chamber concentrator) vs LOX (knuckle dragger diluter with no electricity nor aircraft pneumatics required).
I've flown both. OBOGS scares me on an occupational health basis,
long term. Properly maintained and early-overhauled, I'm otherwise comfortable with the exposure risk to hypoxia and carcinogenic stuff coming from the "magic membranes" if failed. Unfortunately, that's not how the DOD rolls. Indentured servants don't get transparency, and I digress before I get talked to again. I'm under no illusion that
whistleblowers get any kind of reprieve in the military. There was plenty of evidence of what befalls you when you choose that route, by the experience one of the two Guard F-22 pilots back in 2011. Nothing new under the sun. 6.5 years to check o the month....
LOX may be testy for mishandling by the maintainers (anything that can go kaboom is), but it's the devil I know, so it's the devil I trust. Worst I can have with LOX generally, is the old POS regulators leak like a russian bot if you leave it out of 100%. So you get stuck on a RON waiting on the OG/CC to get ya the waiver to fly it to a servicing base while remaining below 10K. Big whoop. By the way, our regulators (same one you posted) are safety wired ON, so we never manipulate the green lever. In the OBOGS bird, they're electrical dependent, so the switch had to be manipulated on and off. You also need pneumatics with obogs, so that's a system limfac in the event of engine failure. Granted, on the grey jets, you got RAM alternate sources and/or multiple engines, so it's not a limfac for them as it is for the T-6.
--break break--
None of this has anything to do with what happened with this F-35 in my professional opinion.
