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    F-35 test pilot flies first roll-on landing aboard HMS Prince of Wales

    F-35 test pilot flies first roll-on landing aboard HMS Prince of Wales

    Photo By Michael Land | Controllers' reflections are visible on the flying control (FLYCO) windows below which...... read more read more

    UNITED STATES

    10.23.2023

    Story by Michael Land 

    F-35 Lightning II Pax River ITF   

    An F-35 Lightning II test pilot performed the first roll-on landing of an F-35B fighter jet aboard the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier off the U.S. Eastern Seaboard Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023.

    Marine Maj. Paul Gucwa piloted the short takeoff vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the 5th generation strike aircraft for the first shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) aboard HMS Prince of Wales, Britain’s biggest warship, as part of developmental test phase 3 (DT-3) flight trials during the ship's deployment to the Western Atlantic for WESTLANT 2023.

    “It was a wonderful experience to see our training and preparation lead to a predictable and comfortable outcome.” Gucwa said. “Expanding on the initial work the team executed during DT-1 and DT-2 is the next step in providing these types of increased capabilities to the warfighter, which is what flight test is all about” he said.

    F-35B pilots usually approach the carrier from the port side to a position adjacent to a landing spot. They then transition, or fly sideways, to the landing spot and land vertically. More than looking and sounding different, the landing technique could lead to tactics where a pilot returns to the ship with heavier loads, for example more fuel or weapons.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 10.23.2023
    Date Posted: 10.23.2023 08:14
    Story ID: 456292
    Location: US

    Web Views: 413
    Downloads: 2

    PUBLIC DOMAIN