Feb. 9, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On Feb. 11 1945, the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation’s XP-81 made its first flight at Muroc. It was piloted by Frank Davis.
March 16, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On March 15, 2007, the YAL-1 Airborne Laser conducted the first in-flight test firings of its Target Illuminator Laser. Multiple beams of photons were directed against an NKC-135E Big Crow target aircraft off the California coastline. The kilowatt-class TIL tracks a potential target and measures
March 3, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history 27 Feb 1958 at Edwards - A test team began a series of performance, stability and control flight tests of the Lockheed CL-329 JetStar, a small, high-speed utility transport. The prototype aircraft was configured with two Bristol Siddeley Orpheus engines. (Edwards History Office file photo)
March 23, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On March 23, 1948, the Douglas XF3D Skyknight made its first flight, with Douglas test pilot Russell Thaw at the controls. The F3D, a large twin-engine night fighter developed for the Navy, had been trucked in to Muroc Army Airfield from El Segundo, California, for its flight test program.
May 18, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On May 18, 1953, Jacqueline Cochran made two supersonic dives in a Canadian-built (Canadair) F-86E Sabre and became the first woman to exceed the speed of sound. Later that day she flew the same plane over Edwards AFB’s low-level course, a 12-pylon, 100-kilometer track, to a new women’s absolute
Aug. 31, 2016 This week in Edwards flight test history Sept. 3, 1985 - Space Shuttle Discovery landed on lakebed Runway 23 following a successful mission to deploy three satellites and an on-orbit satellite repair task. Shuttle pilot Col. Joe Engle (United States Air Force Test Pilot School Class 61) carried an Air Force Flight Test Center flag and a
Aug. 11, 2016 This week in Edwards flight test history On Aug. 12, 1972 the McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle successfully passed its first flight performance milestone six weeks ahead of schedule. This milestone consisted of Mach 2 flight and altitude and g-load targets.
July 22, 2016 This week in Edwards flight test history July 20, 1982 - The first flight of the F-16XL took place. General Dynamics modified a FSD F-16 to answer a U.S. Air Force requirement for a dual-role, longer-range fighter to support future air combat requirements. The F-16XL featured a cambered, cranked-delta wing with a sharp leading-edge sweep
Aug. 2, 2016 This week in Edwards flight test history August 6, 1980 - A B-1 Lancer Combined Test Force crew completed an 11-hour sortie in B-1 No. 4. This was the longest nonstop flight ever logged by a B-1.
March 30, 2017 This Week in Edwards Flight Test History On March 28, 1983, the director of the F-15 Combined Test Force, Lt. Col. John M. Hoffman, flew the first of 27 high-angle-of attack-test flights on an F-15C with the test nose boom removed. This series proved that troublesome flight anomalies that had appeared on the F-15C had been caused by the