STOVL Propulsion Ground Test before first flight!
Video @ popsci!
Sources:
Lockheed Martin F-35B STOVL Stealth Fighter Achieves Successful First Flight
Press release:
FORT WORTH, Texas, June 11th, 2008 —
F-35B STOVL Takes Off For The First Time
With test pilot Graham Tomlinson at the controls, the short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35B Lightning II streaked into blue Texas skies Wednesday, marking the first flight of an aircraft that will provide a combination of capabilities never before available: stealth, supersonic speed and STOVL basing flexibility.
Tomlinson, a former Royal Air Force Harrier pilot now employed by BAE Systems, performed a conventional takeoff at 10:17 a.m. CDT from Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facility. As planned, all initial F-35B flights will be made using conventional takeoffs and landings, with transitions to short takeoffs, hovers and vertical landings beginning early next year. Tomlinson guided the jet to 15,000 feet and performed a series of handling tests, engine-power variations and subsystems checks before landing at 11:01 a.m. CDT.
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Source: Lockheed Martin F-35B STOVL Stealth Fighter Achieves Successful First Flight
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