F-35 Flight Test Update 7

7 November 2011: Marine Corps Maj. Richard Rusnok flew a 2.6-hour mission in F-35B BF-2 to mark the 300th F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing System Development and Demonstration flight of 2011. The flight out of NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, marked BF-2 Flight 145.

18 November 2011: The F-35 Integrated Test Force carried out the first Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS, launch of the F-35C. Navy Lt. Christopher Tabert flew the milestone mission in F-35C CF-3 at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. The brief 0.1-hour test marked CF-3 Flight 37. 

29 November 2011: Marine Corps Lt. Col. Matt Taylor was at the controls for F-35C CF-1 Flight 100 from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. CF-1 was the first F-35C test aircraft to reach this milestone on the 0.3-hour flight.

7 December 2011: The F-35 System Development and Demonstration test fleet surpassed 1,500 flight hours in 2011 with F-35A AF-4 Flight 82 from Edwards AFB, California. Air Force Lt. Col. George Griffiths piloted the 3.1-hour KC-10 refueling mission in AF-4, completing the planned clean aircraft KC-10 tanker refueling test requirements.

10 December 2011: BAE Systems test pilot Peter Wilson executed his 100th F-35B vertical landing during BF-1 Flight 155, the F-35B’s first short takeoff/vertical landing mode flight and vertical landing with the redesigned auxiliary air inlet, or AAI, doors. The 1.8-hour flight from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, verified performance of the new AAI doors after discoveries in flight test found the original door design was prone to oscillation.  

10 December 2011: Three F-35A aircraft with Air Force pilots at the controls fell in line during concurrent flight tests at Edwards AFB, California. Maj. Matt Hayden flew 3.2 hours for AF-2 Flight 176; Lt. Col. Dwayne Opella flew AF-3 Flight 83 for 2.3 hours; and Maj. Speares flew AF-4 on the 2.1-hour Flight 85.

19 December 2011: Lt. Col. George Griffiths from Edwards AFB, California, piloted the first F-35 test aircraft to reach 100 flights in one year, F-35A AF-2. The 2.2-hour flight marked AF-2 Flight 179.

19 December 2011: Marine Corps Maj. Russell Clift flew the first F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing mission with instrumented bomb rack units, or BRUs, holding GBU-32 satellite-guided weapons. The 2.1-hour flight from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, included flight with the weapon bay doors open. The test mission marked F-35B BF-3 Flight 167.  

22 December 2011: Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Levin flew F-35B BF-3 for the aircraft’s 100th flight in 2011 at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. The flight, BF-2 Flight 168, was a 1.2-hour weapons test mission. It was also the final BF-3 flight of 2011. 

31 December 2011: F-35 Completes 972 Flights, 7,823 Test Points In 2011: The 2011 F-35 flight test plan called for 872 flights and 6,622 test points. For the year, the System Development and Demonstration program flew 972 flights and tallied 7,823 test points. The F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant was flown on 474 flights and tallied 3,600 test points. The F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variant was flown on 333 flights and tallied 2,636 test points. The F-35C carrier variant was flown on 165 flights and tallied 1,587 test points. Additionally, the F-35B test fleet executed 268 vertical landings. The cumulative 2011 milestones were achieved through a combination of planned test flights and test points along with test flights and test points added throughout the year.

10 January 2012: F-35B BF-4 completed the 600th F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variant test flight with Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Levin at the controls. The flight from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, marked BF-4 Flight 93.

5 January 2012: Marine Corps Lt. Col. Fred Schenk executed the first vertical landing in F-35B BF-5 at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. The 1.1-hour flight, BF-5 Flight 26, included four sorties and two vertical landings. Of the five F-35B test aircraft at Pax, BF-5 was the final jet to complete a vertical landing.