F135 engines scheduled for future testing at AEDC Published Oct. 19, 2005 By Janaé Daniels Arnold Engineering Development Public Affairs ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. (AFMCNS) -- Pratt & Whitney's Thomas Johnson, chief engineer of the F135 program, and Jim Dunn, chief of validation and test, visited the Arnold Engineering Development Center Sept. 12 to prepare for the conventional takeoff and landing, or CTOL, qualification test for the F-35's F135-PW-100 engine. Two qualification engines for the F135 program are scheduled to arrive at AEDC in late October and will be tested through the end of January 2006. "As of today, the F135 program is in excellent shape," Mr. Johnson said. "We have completed our post test critical design review and have more than 3,500 hours of development and accelerated mission testing on the CTOL, carrier variant (CV) as well as the short-takeoff vertical-landing (STOVL) engines." Mr. Johnson explained the next portion of the program saying, "The next big event is flight clearing for the A-1 first aircraft, which will fly in August 2006. The F135 team is focused on qualifying the first CTOL flight ready engine and has gone through the first of three flight clearance reviews." At the same time, they are also developing the STOVL propulsion system, which is running concurrent with the CTOL flight clearance program. "Things are going very well for us and we are really pleased with the amount of work and activity we have been able to accomplish at AEDC," Mr. Dunn said. "AEDC has been a big part of our program and are going to be a big part of getting us to first flight."