May 25, 2017 F-22 Flying Test Bed is tip of spear for Raptor mission systems From time to time, the F-22 Raptor Combined Test Force at the 411th Flight Test Squadron gets a visit from an old friend. A highly modified and instrumented Boeing 757 called the F-22 Flying Test Bed is an F-22 avionics laboratory. The experimental FTB is the very first Boeing 757 ever produced,
Feb. 23, 2017 Love for flying kept last KC-135 flight engineer flying for decades EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- After a career that has spanned almost four decades, the last Air Force flight engineer for the KC-135 Stratotanker is set to retire at Edwards. Master Sgt. Robert Self joined the U.S. Marine Corps in November 1978 and will wrap up his military career next month as
Feb. 4, 2017 Portable Manned Interactive Cockpit goes on the road One of 2016’s quick-kill innovation projects, the Portable Manned Interactive Cockpit, was deployed to Orlando, Florida, to participate in the Operation Blended Warrior event in December. This was the second year of a four-year event. Mark Louton, an Experimentation Center for Ideas/Technology
Feb. 2, 2017 JSF pilot ensemble designed to keep out chemical, biological agents After several tests during the past six months to contaminate and decontaminate an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with simulated chemical and biological agents, the 461st Flight Test Squadron has now moved forward to testing a suit ensemble designed to protect the pilot from those threats. “Over a
Feb. 2, 2017 Local law enforcement joins Edwards defenders for training EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Law enforcement representatives from the region met up with 412th Security Forces Squadron members for Behavior Detection and Analysis training. Two iterations of three-day classes occurred Jan. 18-20 and Jan. 23-25, 2017. Department of Homeland Security trainers
Feb. 2, 2017 Edwards First Term Airman’s Center expands into new realm EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The First Term Airman’s Center here is shifting its services to better serve Team Edwards. According to Master Sgt. Andre Brooks, FTAC had become not much more than in-processing for new Airmen.“Our goal is to move away from in-processing and more toward
Feb. 1, 2017 Benefield Anechoic Facility hosts B-52 for HERO testing A B-52 Stratofortress from the 96th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, is undergoing Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance testing in the Benefield Anechoic Facility. The test was requested by the B-52 Program Office at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, to comply with
Feb. 1, 2017 Red Cross talks emergency preparedness with fourth graders The Edwards Office of Emergency Management, 812th Civil Engineering Squadron, invited the American Red Cross to Irving L. Branch Elementary Jan. 19, 2017, as part of the Red Cross’ Pillowcase Project. Branch fourth graders received a lesson in emergency preparedness with encouragement to take what
Jan. 19, 2017 Edwards test pilot first to reach 1,000 flight hours in Joint Strike Fighter Lockheed Martin test pilot David "Doc" Nelson became the first pilot to achieve 1,000 flight hours in the F-35 during a test sortie Jan. 6, 2017. He achieved the milestone during a 4.5-hour flight in AF-03, one of the 461st Flight Test Squadron’s Joint Strike Fighters used for developmental test
Jan. 13, 2017 Edwards AFB reduces cost for fire suppression test Members of the F-35 Integrated Test Force developed a new funnel system that captures the foam or water deluge during required hangar fire-suppression system tests, saving $79,750 and several days of delay, which can be critically important for test programs.