 |
F-35B in wet runway test at Edwards AFB.
Lockheed Martin photo |
FORT WORTH, Texas – The F35B recently completed required wet runway and crosswind testing at Edward Air Force Base, Calif. It's an important program milestone enabling U.S. Marines Corps Initial Operational Capability certification. The testing, completed in 37 missions during a 41-day period, achieved 114 test points, including 48 of 48 wet runway test points, four of four performance STOs, 12 of 18 unique flight test conditions for STO, 19 of 23 unique flight test conditions for SLs and all directional control and anti-skid wet runway testing. All testing was performed with BF-4, based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. In other achievements, four aircraft surpassed flight hour milestones, demonstrating program maturity and reliability: F-35C aircraft CF-1 and F-35A aircraft AF-4 achieved 500 flight hours, and F-35C aircraft CF-5 achieved 100 flight hours. (Source:
Lockheed Martin, 07/30/14)
Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center for all three variants of the plane.
