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
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.
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.
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
April 6, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On April 5, 1947, the second prototype of the Hughes XF-11 twin-boom reconnaissance aircraft made its first complete flight (takeoff and safe landing), piloted by Howard Hughes.
May 25, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On May 25, 1999, the F-117 test force completed the Single Configuration Fleet program. The SCF provided a uniform radar absorbing material coating for the entire F-117 fleet, significantly reducing costs and maintenance hours.
May 11, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On May 10, 1972, Fairchild Republic’s YA-10A Thunderbolt II made its first flight, flown by company chief test pilot Howard “Sam” Nelson. The twin-engine, twin-tailed ground attack aircraft was designed around the GAU-8 Avenger 30mm rotary cannon.
March 8, 2017 This week in Edwards flight test history On March 10, 1959, the first of four captive-carry flights of the X-15 mated to its Boeing NB-52A Stratofortress “mother ship” (s/n 52-003A) took place. North American Aviation test pilot A. Scott Crossfield was in the cockpit of the X-15.