Free Republic

After a surge of flight test activity the F-35 program completed its 200th test flight last week. On May 5, Graham Tomlison piloted BF-1 for 44 minutes evaluating the jet's flying qualities and airframe loads. The uptempo flying means the program has regained the flight schedule and is well on its way to fulfill the target of 394 flights this year. If not slightly improving on it. At the turn of the month 60 flights had been recorded of 58 planned. In two weeks in April the test teams at Fort Worth and NAS Pax River chalked up no less...

A supersonic Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter rode more than 41,000 pounds of thrust to a vertical landing today for the first time, confirming its required ability to land in confined areas both ashore and afloat. “Today’s vertical landing onto a 95-foot square pad showed that we have the thrust and the control to maneuver accurately both in free air and in the descent through ground effect,” said F-35 Lead STOVL Pilot Graham Tomlinson. Tomlinson performed an 80-knot (93 miles per hour) short takeoff from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., at 1:09 p.m. EDT. About 13 minutes...

The multinational Lockheed Martin F-35 achieved its first vertical landing today, a major step forward for the struggling stealthy single-engine fighter test program. The vertical landing took place about 1:23 p.m. EDT at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. The aircraft rode more than 41,000 lb. of thrust to achieve the vertical landing; this milestone is key in proving the aircraft will be suitable for the U.S. Marine Corps, and British and Italian forces. The landing occurred after an 80-kt. short takeoff at 1:09 p.m. About 13 minutes into flight, Grant Tomlinson, F-35 lead short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing test (Stovl) pilot for Lockheed,...