STOVL aircraft makes first flight

Fort Worth, Texas - June 16, 2008 — The F-35B Lightning II made its first flight on June 11 with a conventional takeoff. But when fully operational, the aircraft will provide a combination of things — stealth, supersonic speed and short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) — never before available in one aircraft. Test pilot Graham Tomlinson, a former Royal Air Force Harrier pilot now employed by BAE Systems, performed the 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 about 45 minutes later. The F-35B, also known as BF-1, becomes the second Lightning II to enter flight test, preceded by the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A, which first flew in December 2006 and has completed 43 flights. The F-35B that flew June 11 is the second of 19 System Development and Demonstration aircraft and the first to incorporate new weight-saving design features that will apply to all future F-35 aircraft. Though nearly identical in appearance to the F-35A, the F-35B incorporates a counter-rotating shaft-driven lift fan positioned directly behind the cockpit. The lift fan, engine and stabilizing roll ducts beneath the F-35B's wings combine to produce 40,000 pounds of lifting force. Converting the F-35B from STOVL to conventional flight and vice-versa requires only the push of a button by the pilot. "We're absolutely convinced that this aircraft is going to only further enhance what is a tremendous asymmetric advantage that we hold in terms of controlling the air, taking advantage of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, multi-sensor capabilities, and the ability, if need be, to drop a bomb in a precision strike," said Gen. James Conway, Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps. The F-35 is part of the Joint Strike Fighter program.

The first Lockheed Martin F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing stealth fighter takes off from Lockheed Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas, on its inaugural flight June 11. The F-35B, which will be used by the U.S. Marine Corps, the United Kingdom and Italy, is the first aircraft to combine stealth with supersonic speed and short takeoff/vertical landing capability. The F-35B in the air on June 11.

• 2008 - 11/17 - Endeavour Arrives at ISS
• 2008 - 11/10 - Pilot Lands Safely After Losing Vision
• 2008 - 11/10 - Not Much Progress Yet for Whooping Cranes
• 2008 - 10/31 - Follow Student Pilot’s Journey
• 2008 - 10/20 - Worlds Only Civilian Harrier Debuts