BRITISH PILOT FLIES SUSTAINED HOVER IN JSF X-35B AFTER VERTICAL TAKEOFF

On 25 June 2001, the Lockheed Martin Team’s supersonic Joint Strike Fighter, the X-35B, piloted by BAE SYSTEMS test pilot Simon Hargreaves, took off vertically, maintained a hover for about two minutes and landed vertically. The event was a first for a JSF demonstrator – the latest in a series of tests by the Lockheed Martin Team to validate the revolutionary new shaft-driven lift fan propulsion system.

"The lift fan approach is a key step in the development and production of a next-generation supersonic STOVL fighter," said Chris Boardman, BAE SYSTEMS Programmes Managing Director with responsibility for JSF. "The combination of the lift fan with the engine produces enormous STOVL thrust with little consequence to the ground environment. The whole engine concept also ensures that the fighting qualities of the aircraft in normal flight are maintained, by placing the core engine at the back of the aircraft where it needs to be."

"The BAE SYSTEMS team involved in the development of the system brings with it key STOVL experience acquired through the Harrier programme, and this achievement is evidence that the teamwork has really paid off. The whole Team approach has proven to be a major success, allowing skills from all three members to be applied wherever they are best suited. This approach will deliver the power of the three corporations to our customers and ensure that the aircraft delivered will meet their needs."

At the Lockheed Martin plant in Palmdale, California, BAE SYSTEMS test pilot Simon Hargreaves engaged the lift-fan propulsion system, and the aircraft took off vertically to a sustained hover position at an altitude of about 25 feet above the ground.

"This was a stunning success. The lifting power is incredible and the handling is extremely precise," said Hargreaves, a veteran Harrier pilot. "The flight occurred with minimal pilot inputs - I was essentially a passenger. This speaks volumes about the quality of the aircraft and the propulsion system."

"The success of the flight is even more notable by the fact that it was achieved at 2,500 feet above sea level, in the desert, where engine performance is typically lower compared operations at sea level," Hargreaves added. "The aircraft hovered at 25 feet above the ground at significantly less than full throttle."

Hargreaves held the 35,000-pound X-35B in a stabilised hover position for about two minutes, and executed checks of the flight controls to test the aircraft’s handling qualities, before returning the aircraft gently to the ground.

"This is absolutely breakthrough technology," said Tom Burbage, executive vice president and general manager of the Lockheed Martin JSF program. "Our team has worked tirelessly to make this system safe and reliable and to bring STOVL performance to an extraordinary new level. We knew it would work. Now we're getting to prove it."

Subsequent flights will include conversions to and from conventional and STOVL modes, transitions from wing-borne to jet-borne flight, short takeoffs, and vertical landings. Flight-test operations will move first to Edwards Air Force Base, California, then to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, where the aircraft's sea-level capabilities will be demonstrated. The aircraft completed its wing-borne flight requirements last November.

QuickTime Movie 
JSF STOVL  (2.4 MB)

The X-35B, designed to meet the requirements of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, as well as those of the US Marine Corps, features a unique propulsion system in which a drive shaft from the Pratt & Whitney JSF119-611 engine turns a counter-revolving lift fan that produces cool-air lifting force during STOVL operations. The front-mounted fan works in concert with an articulating rear duct and under-wing lateral-control nozzles to generate nearly 40,000 pounds of lifting power. Rolls-Royce produces the fan.

"We are proud to have played a key role in Lockheed Martin's innovative STOVL solution," said Charles Hughes, Rolls-Royce vice president of JSF. "The X-35B has offered Rolls-Royce an exciting opportunity to team with aerospace industry leaders to work on a tremendous challenge. Our team has been excited by the challenge, and has responded enthusiastically to tackling the complex technical issues and integration."

Walt Sirmans, Pratt & Whitney's program manager for the Lockheed Martin JSF119 engine program, said, "The extraordinary performance and rock-solid controllability demonstrated in this flight confirm this concept and our readiness for the next phase."

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