F-35A AF-7 First Flight

Posted 4 March 2011

TAGS:

Photo by Randy Crites

The second production model of the F-35 Lightning II, F-35A AF-7, completed its inaugural flight on 4 March 2011 from NAS Fort Worth JRB with Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti at the controls. The F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant flew for 1.3 hours. AF-7 is the second and final aircraft from Low Rate Initial Production Lot 1.

Comments

F-22 Articles
F-22 News
F-22 Video
F-22 Photos

View All Articles

Eric Hehs Retires
2/23/2016
Longtime Code One Editor Eric Hehs Calls It A Career

Inside Look At Design Evolution Of F-22
9/24/2015
The official beginning of the ATF program usually traces to 1981. But studies for an advanced tactical fighter began in the early 1970s.

F-22 Operations At JB Elmendorf-Richardson In Alaska
9/4/2015
The Elmo Raptor drivers are uniquely situated for both training and potential conflict areas.

Defining Fifth Generation Fighters
5/21/2015
The fifth generation of fighters, the F-22 and F-35, fundamentally changes the concept of operations for combat.

F-22 First Flight To Final Delivery
6/11/2012
The history of the F-22 program is still being written at the operational and training units, in flight testing of new capabilities, at the support centers, and upgrade and modernization programs that will come in future years.

Last Raptor Delivered
6/6/2012
A dramatic reveal of the last Raptor concluded the event. The immense metal doors of the B-1 building were raised to make public the sleek jet that had rolled off the F-22 assembly line at the opposite end of the building in December 2011.

ATF To Raptor 01 First Flight
2/28/2012
F-22 chronology covers the program from early studies to the first flight of the first production Raptor in 1997.

Keeping The Raptor Fit And Flying
11/8/2010
Given the vital role the F-22 performs in projecting air power and considering that the US Air Force will have 187 aircraft by the time production winds down in early 2012, maintaining the fleet and keeping Raptors flying are the new imperatives.

Where The Raptor Starts Its Day
3/3/2010
"Where America Starts Its Day." This slogan, appearing on T-shirts sold in tourist shops all over Guam, highlights the island’s distinction as the westernmost US territory and, hence, where day first breaks on America.

F-22 Heads To Kadena And Red Flag 
6/15/2007
F-22 Raptors from the 1st Fighter Wing set new firsts in February as pilots and personnel took the US Air Force’s fifth-generation fighter from Langley AFB in Virginia to Kadena AB, Japan, and to Nellis AFB, Nevada.

View All News