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Subject:
F-35B Flying Again - F-35A To Fly Next Week
Softwar
8/29/2008 8:58:16 AM
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The Lightning II is flying again.
Lockheed Martin has resumed test flights of the first production-representative F-35B aircraft after a four-week halt due to technical problems.
Graham Tomlinson, BAE Systems test pilot assigned to the program, made the 10th test flight of the aircraft late Wednesday, a 50-minute-long sortie that tested new software and on-board electronic systems.
"All of that went very well," said Bill Coutts, Lockheed?s director of F-35 flight testing in Fort Worth.
Just before noon Thursday, the plane was launched skyward again, this time with Lockheed test pilot Jeff Knowles at the controls for what turned out to be a 75-minute flight.
A second flight planned for late afternoon was postponed and rescheduled for today.
The test aircraft, the first designed for short takeoffs and vertical landings required by the Marine Corps and the first to incorporate changes because of a major redesign, had been grounded by Lockheed since a July 30 flight.
Dan Crowley, Lockheed executive vice president overseeing the F-35 development, said the delay was due to a potential electrical-power system problem that required two weeks of testing to debug.
The system turned out not to have a problem, but in the meantime, software and other changes to the aircraft were made.
The airplane will be flown several times in the next few weeks and then will be shut down for about three months so planned modifications and upgrades can be installed.
The original test aircraft, or AA-1 as it is known, is set to resume flights next week.
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