Lockheed Martin test pilot Jon Beesley was scheduled to fly the first F-35B STOVL test aircraft to the Navy's Patuxent River flight test center Monday or today, but hurricane-turned-tropical storm Ida got in the way.
It seems Ida has brought a lot of clouds and rain and wind into the southeastern U.S. and into the planned flight path of test aircraft BF-1, which has to fly to Lockheed's Marietta, Ga. base for gas and maintenance before moving on to Pax River. The early flight test aircraft are all limited to visual flight rules and BF-1 is not configured for air-to-air refueling.
"Right now the earliest day day to go is Thursday," said Lockheed spokesman John Kent. The decision to go ahead and move BF-1 to Pax River was made following a flawless ferry rehearsal flight on Friday.
The move to Pax River to begin the short-takeoff and vertical-landing flight tests is an important step for the program and one that has been held up for months. The STOVL tests were to have begun last spring.
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