NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md. - An F-35B made a vertical landing for the first time Thursday. The Joint Strike Fighter performed a 93 miles per hour short takeoff from Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Some 13 minutes into the flight, the pilot positioned the aircraft 150 feet above the airfield, where the F-35 hovered for a minute then descend to the runway. The aircraft, BF-1, is one of three F-35B STOVL jets undergoing flight trials at the Patuxent River test site. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 03/18/10) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will be home to the Joint Strike Fighter training center.
NEWS: A digest of aerospace, defense and technology news from the Gulf Coast I-10 region
Thursday, March 18, 2010
F-35 notches first vertical landing
NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md. - An F-35B made a vertical landing for the first time Thursday. The Joint Strike Fighter performed a 93 miles per hour short takeoff from Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Some 13 minutes into the flight, the pilot positioned the aircraft 150 feet above the airfield, where the F-35 hovered for a minute then descend to the runway. The aircraft, BF-1, is one of three F-35B STOVL jets undergoing flight trials at the Patuxent River test site. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 03/18/10) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will be home to the Joint Strike Fighter training center.
