F-35 lightning II moving ahead

Air Force Lt. Col. James Kromberg, a former Marine aviator, became the first service member to fly the F-35 on Wednesday at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas. Kromber is director of operations for the 461st Flight Test Squadron, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. He served in the Marine Corps from 1987-2003 and has more than 3,200 flight hours on the AV-8B Harrier, T-38, F-15 and F-16. Attached to the F-35 test team since 2005, Kromberg has logged plenty of hours on the Joint Strike Fighter’s simulator. He also helped draft the aircraft’s initial flight manual, test plans and aircrew training procedures. “I have been smiling since arriving at the aircraft this morning and haven’t stopped,” Kromberg said on the day of the flight, according to an Air Force press release. Kromberg’s initial test flight put the JSF through takeoff, handling qualities maneuvers, engine throttle transients, formation maneuvers with an F-16 and landing. He took off from Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth plant at 11:54 a.m. Central Time, flew to 6,000 feet and checked handling qualities at a 15-degree angle of attack, the release said. He then climbed to 10,000 and 12,000 feet, assessing the up-and-away flight-control response. Kromberg, whose call sign is “Flipper,” also tested the F-35’s engine performance and formation-flying characteristics. “The aircraft was responsive across all flight regimes,” he said. “The engine thrust response was excellent — accelerating very quickly. The aircraft was very stable during formation flight.” Further flight tests on the F-35 will include envelope expansion, flying qualities evaluations, subsystems testing and initial systems assessments, according to the release. Edwards will host further F-35 flight tests in the spring.