Dec. 8, 2016 This week in Edwards flight test history On Dec. 5, 1963, U.S. Air Force pilot Maj. Bob Rushworth flew an X-15 to Mach 6.06 which, at the time, was the highest speed achieved by a winged aircraft. During his time with the program, Rushworth completed 34 X-15 flights, more than any other pilot.
Nov. 16, 2016 This week in Edwards flight test history On Nov. 15, 1941, the U.S. Army's first test of a General Motors A-1 "flying bomb" took place. The unmanned monoplane, to be guided by either a preset flight program or radio control, reached a speed of 97 mph on its rail launch track but settled to the ground and crashed soon after takeoff. The
Jan. 11, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On Jan. 11, 1941, the Army Air Corps announced that radio control of robot airplanes, from the ground or from another aircraft, had been tested successfully.
Dec. 1, 2016 This week in Edwards flight test history On Nov. 28, 1956, the Ryan X-13 Vertijet made the world’s first jet vertical transition flight. Following a horizontal takeoff, test pilot Pete Girard put the test airplane into a vertical hover and then recovered flying speed for a conventional landing. This Edwards History Office file photo was
Jan. 4, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On Jan. 2, 1968, two pilots assigned to Edwards escaped serious injury after they abandoned their F-111A some 25 miles southeast of the base due to an in-flight fire. They were the first aircrew to use the F-111’s emergency escape module.
Dec. 13, 2016 This week in Edwards flight test history On Dec. 15, 1944, Bell test pilot Jack Woolams established an unofficial U.S. altitude record when he climbed to 47,600 feet in a YP-59A Airacomet.
April 20, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On April 20, 1987, the new control tower was officially opened with the takeoff of an F-15. The new facility, which is stressed to withstand an 8.0 magnitude earthquake as well as 120-plus mph winds, replaced the 10-story red and white structure that had been a landmark since 1956. Today, the cab of
April 13, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On April 11, 1992, the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III successfully completed its first in-flight refueling mission from a KC-135 Stratotanker.
Feb. 23, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On Feb. 21, 1953, a variant of the Bell X-1, the Bell X-1A, made its first powered flight, flown by Jean “Skip” Ziegler.
Feb. 15, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On Feb. 15, 1958, the first Convair B-58 Hustler (55-665) arrived at the Flight Test Center for Phase IV testing, concluding a combined delivery and test flight. The four engine delta winged aircraft was the world’s first bomber designed to sustain supersonic speeds during its mission profile. This