Photo By Jacob Wood | The U.S. Air Force became the first government customer to fly the F-35. On January...... read more read more
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The U.S. Air Force is the largest F-35 Lightning II customer, and that branch of service’s role during the fifth-generation aircraft's test flights for the A variant was crucial to the success of the F-35 warfighters flying today.
On Jan. 30, 2008, a U.S. Airman suited up and climbed into the fighter jet’s cockpit to fly the first evaluation flight by a government test pilot. After 25 test flights, this one officially marked the passing of the baton – or the stick – from contractor test pilots to the U.S. Air Force.
Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. James “Flipper” Kromberg flew the aircraft through a series of maneuvers on its 26th flight at the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
From 2005 to 2008, Kromberg served in the U.S. Air Force on the F-35 program. He initially served as a Marine from 1987 to 2003 and attended U.S. Air Force test pilot school as a Marine in 1996. He transferred to the U.S. Air Force in 2003 and served until 2012.
“It was unique that I had been a Marine and I ended up in the program as the first Air Force pilot selected to fly the F-35. It was an incredible blessing,” remembers Kromberg. "My experience as a former Marine Harrier test pilot and then as an Air Force test pilot with other fighters made me a uniquely qualified asset for the joint program.”
The U.S. services collaborated with the aviation industry to design the F-35's initial flight manual, test plans, and aircrew training procedures. This team convened to discuss the best qualities of earlier aircraft that should be included in the test manual.
“This involved not just an understanding of physical systems, but the tasks required to train pilots to fly the aircraft,” said Kromberg. “Our initial goal was commonality - the displays would be similar, all the requirements for training would be similar, the stick and rudder would do the same thing, no matter which aircraft you were flying. We leveraged what we knew about similar aircraft (like the F-16 Fighting Falcon, AV-8B Harrier, and F/A-18 Hornet) to create something that added the unique F-35 variant features.”
The collaborative nature of the F-35 test pilots demonstrated the joint nature required to achieve successful flights.
“I was in Fort Worth every other week for developmental simulators and meetings with the teams on pilot related requirements,” Kromberg said. “If I was home at Edwards Air Force Base [California] I would be in contact with [Lockheed Martin test pilots] Jon Beesley or Jeff Knowles concerning the varied systems, test progress and any safety concerns. The day before my first flight, I went to the simulator and flew the profile with Jon. We reviewed emergencies that could happen on the flight so I wouldn’t be surprised,” Kromberg said.
He arrived that day in Fort Worth excited for the opportunity to work more directly with the flight test team.
The test points were ones he had accomplished many times over in the simulator, he said, though not yet with the live control room.
“For Flight 26, instead of sitting at the side of the table as a chase plane pilot, I was sitting at the front of the table with the test director and test conductor,” said Kromberg. “I knew what I was getting into as the F-35A’s test points weren't overly complicated at that time."
That is not to take away from the significance of the test points, Kromberg explained further, because “when you do a series of test points supporting envelope expansion, you're doing the same thing over and over to increase the aircraft envelope with the control room monitoring all the limits.”
Kromberg took off from the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth at 11:54 a.m., flew the aircraft to an altitude of 6,000 feet and evaluated its handling at a 15-degree angle of attack. He then ascended to 10,000 and then 12,000 feet, assessing the up-and-away flight-controls. Kromberg also evaluated the F-35's engine performance and its formation-flying characteristics.
An important development milestone of the F-35 is when the contractor delivers the fighter jet to the government for flights. Prior to Kromberg, only the contractor pilots flew the F-35 to identify fixes, changes, or omissions.
“By allowing the U.S. Air Force to take the F-35 into the air, it adds depth to the test execution, balancing the team,” said Kromberg. “It marks a milestone for both the contractor and the government that the aircraft is maturing and on the right path.”
Kromberg also said that the reason for the mix was so that Lockheed Martin, as the technical requirements owner, could ensure that it was poised for success with the U.S. Air Force.
“While I was the first government pilot to fly the F-35,” Kromberg added, “I was part of a much greater Department of Defense and industry team helping to mature the final product.”
In January 2008, Kromberg recalled smiling from the moment he arrived for his mission that morning, until he landed the fighter jet safely back on the runway. With now more than 890 operational F-35s delivered and 14 services operating it, Kromberg said it’s great to see the effectiveness of today’s F-35.
Kromberg remains engaged in the flight test enterprise. He operates a flight test consulting firm that provides support for the commercial derivative aircraft programs for the 661st Aeronautical Systems Squadron in Denver, and the 645th Aeronautical Systems Group at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He is an FAA authorized designated engineering representative flight test pilot. Additionally, he is also an independent flight test consultant for the aviation industry.
| Date Taken: | 01.30.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 01.30.2023 09:55 |
| Story ID: | 437439 |
| Location: | ARLINGTON, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 980 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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