26 Jun 2020

Edwards AFB Flight Test Museum Reaches Next Milestone, Closer to Reality

The Air Force Flight Test Museum Foundation achieved an important milestone, June 25, when concrete was poured at the site of the future museum that will be located just outside of the Edwards Air Force Base’s West Gate.

9 Jul 2019

History in Two: The Lunar Landing Research Vehicle

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing in 1969. Over a decade prior to this, and nearly four years before President Kennedy’s famous speech, ARDC’s Ballistic Missile Division began research on high thrust space vehicles capable of lunar flights. In January 1957, the ARDC (Air Research and Development Center) invited the N.A.C.A (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) to collaborate on future space plans and projects. With the decision to use civilians for space flight, NASA was formed in July 1958 and began operations in October to carryout the flights to the moon. Among the many undertakings for landing on the moon, a Lunar Landing Research Vehicle project was begun, even before NASA had selected the strategy to use a Lunar Module.

8 Mar 2018

Heads up: 418th FLTS wraps up new pilot display tests

The 418th Flight Test Squadron is finishing up tests on a new head-up display for the C-17 Globemaster III this week. The Air Force wants to see if the Replacement Head-Up Display (RHUD) can supplant the legacy display with a newer, more capable version. For the three-week test, the C-17 Integrated Test Team installed RHUDs on an Edwards C-17 for a

20 Sep 2017

AEDC J-5 Rocket Motor Test Facility undergoing complete renovation

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- As part of the Hypersonic Test and Evaluation Investment Program, a team of Arnold Engineering Development Complex engineers is heading up the Hypersonic Test Capability Improvement, or HTCI, project which will totally transform the former J-5 Large Rocket Motor Test Facility here.Nicknamed, “Project Phoenix,” this

1 Feb 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 a recent mandate from the Air Force Safety Office,

19 Jan 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 and evaluation. “It's an honor. At my age, to be

29 Nov 2016

Final phase of C-17 drag reduction testing underway

When it comes to aviation fuel, the C-17 Globemaster III utilization rate makes it stand out as the largest consumer in the U.S. Air Force. This is why a team at the 418th Flight Test Squadron has been working for the past year on the Air Force Research Laboratory’s C-17 Drag Reduction Program. The 418th FLTS is currently wrapping up testing with

4 Nov 2016

Engineer preps item for testing at AEDC National Full-scale Aerodynamics Complex

19 Aug 2016

F-35 prepared to undergo chemical, biological decontamination testing

After years of preparation, the 461st Flight Test Squadron and Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Test Force are ready to test the F-35 Lightning II’s ability to be decontaminated from chemical and biological weapons exposure. Contractors, Airmen and Air Force civilians have been tirelessly working in the desert heat the past few weeks to finalize