Test pilot Graham Tomlinson on March 10, 2010 flies the first F-35B Joint Strike fighter (or JSF), BF-1, at 40 knots on its 40th flight, employing the jet's forward shaft-driven vertical lift fan — look behind the nosegear — and the aft-vectored thrust nozzle.
The jet's next test will include vertical landings. The propulsion system can deliver up to 41,000 pounds of vertical thrust and, depending on the jet's configuration, can deliver air speeds from zero to the aforementioned 1.6 Mach. This 40-knot fly-by and the faster, 75-knot landing were the slowest of the day.
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