F-35 Flight Test Update 7

9 January 2012: Lockheed Martin test pilot Elliott Clemence became the thirty-second pilot to fly the F-35 when he took off from Edwards AFB, California, in F-35A AF-6 on a 1.4-hour test mission.

9 January 2012: F-35A AF-4 flew at the program’s highest altitude to date, 43,500 feet above mean sea level, or MSL, with Air Force Lt. Col. George Griffiths at the controls. The 1.2-hour flight from Edwards AFB, California, marked AF-4 Flight 92.  

18 January 2012: Lockheed Martin test pilot Mark Ward was at the controls of F-35A AF-6 for the F-35’s first night flight. The 1.3-hour mission consisted of a series of straight-in approaches in twilight and darkness at Edwards AFB, California. The flight marked AF-6 Flight 57.  

20 January 2012: US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced he is rescinding probation for the F-35B a full year ahead of schedule. The decision came after significant progress of the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing program in 2011. His announcement was made at the F-35 Integrated Test Facility at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, at a town hall meeting attended by government and contractor employees.  

25 January 2012: The F-35 System Development and Demonstration flight test program surpassed 2,500 flight hours with eight flights on 25 January. The first F-35 test aircraft, AA-1, flew more than 125 hours. F-35A conventional takeoff and landing aircraft flew more than 1,300 hours; F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variants flew 775 hours; and F-35C carrier variant jets flew 289 flight hours.

25 January 2012: Lockheed Martin test pilot David Nelson was at the controls of F-35A AF-4 Flight 95 for the program’s first engine airstarts since those done in 2008 with AA-1. The 2.1-hour mission out of Edwards AFB, California, included eight successful engine spooldown airstarts.  

Photo by Paul Weatherman

27 January 2012: Navy Lt. Christopher Tabert flew the program’s 200th F-35C carrier variant test flight in test aircraft CF-2 from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, for a speed brake test mission. The 1.3-hour sortie marked CF-2 Flight 52.  

1 February 2012: RAF Sqdn. Ldr. Jim Schofield became the thirty-third pilot to fly the F-35 when he took off from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, for a test mission in F-35B BF-2. The 1.2-hour pilot qualification mission marked BF-2 Flight 155.