Farewell AA-1

F-35 AA-1 has completed 90 test flights to date in the flight test program. Later this week it completes the 91st and final flight for the non-optimized airframe. It flies from Edwards AFB to China Lake, once there it will be destroyed to complete live fire testing. No word on the exact type of tests it will undergo yet.

I saw them doing engine runs the other day. Now it looks like it won't be leaving for a while. Departure has been postponed.

I hate to see them use AA-1 for target practice or battle damage assessment. It seems like a lot of cool prototypes end up on bombing ranges (XP-81, XF-90, X-34, etc.).

reply to post by Shadowhawk
They can`t afford to destroy it right now. I haven`t heard much about AF-1, but BF-1 is rapidly gaining a bad reputation. She landed at Pax River NMCM again. They had to pull the engine to replace a broken fuel valve. While they did that they also changed two broken telemetry sensors. AA-1 took everything they threw at her without blinking.