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 Squadron Leader Justin Paines became the first Royal Air Force pilot to evaluate the vertical takeoff, hover, and vertical landing performance of the X-35B on 30 June. Paines, a Harrier pilot selected to test the X-35 demonstrator aircraft for the UK, roared into the air in a series of three hovers for a total of eight and one-half minutes at the Lockheed Martin plant in Palmdale, California. “It was awesome. The aircraft performed flawlessly,” Paines said after the flight. “The system produces an incredible amount of thrust, even here in the high desert in summer. Apart from having to adhere to the upcoming flight test phase, nothing would have stopped my accelerating away to supersonic speed with the same aircraft.” |
