• June 3, 1969: F-4E First Flight

    A test team flew the first sortie in a series to certify the F-4E Phantom II with a Target Identification System, Electro-Optical system for Tactical Air Command.Beginning in 1973, Phantom II aircraft possessed target-identification systems for long-range visual identification of both airborne

  • June 2, 1989: B-ONE Testing Complete

    The B-1B Lancer Combined Test Force completed the bomber’s development, testing and evaluation (DT&E) program after 592 test flights totaling 3,015 flying hours, utilizing a total of nine different aircraft. The DT&E program began in March 1983.The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep

  • June 1, 2005: A Perfect Union

    Maj Gen Wilbert D. Pearson, Jr., Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) Commander, and representatives of three labor unions implemented a partnership agreement designed to create and enhance a safe and productive work environment on Edwards AFB.  The agreement was signed by General Pearson and the

  • May 31, 2016: SECAF Visits Edwards AFB

    The Honorable Deborah Lee James, Secretary of the Air Force visited Edwards AFB during a taping of the television series “Jay Leno’s Garage” with Jay Leno and Neil DeGrasse Tyson.During her visit she was presented with program briefs, met with Airmen and visited the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School

  • May 30, 1972: Close Air Support

    The Northrop YA-9A Cobra specialized ground attack aircraft made its first flight, flown by company test pilot Mr. Lew Nelson. The aircraft subsequently lost the A-X competitive prototype flyoff against the A-10, and never went into production.Criticism that the U.S. Air Force did not take close air

  • May 29, 1992: ACE Commander

    Col Charles B. DeBellevue assumed command of the 6500th Support Wing, succeeding Col John D. Rhodes. Colonel DeBellevue was the first non-pilot ace and the leading ace of the Vietnam war, having shared in 6 enemy aircraft kills.  Colonel DeBellevue became one of only five Americans to achieve flying

  • May 28, 1993: The new 412th Test Wing headquarters building opens

    A ribbon-cutting ceremony opened the Air Force Flight Test Center, Flight Test Engineering and Management Facility. The new three-story building, soon to be unofficially nicknamed the “Taj Mahal,”  The building was nicknamed the “Taj Mahal” “not so much for its opulence as its undeniable

  • May 27, 1943: Early Drones

    The final GM A-1 drone flew for  80 minutes. Although U.S. Army Air Force officials deemed the flight successful, the persistent problem of ineffective control throughout the first and second test series never got completely solved, and the project was terminated six months later.The GM-A-1

  • May 26, 2010: Waverider Scramjet

    The X-51A Waverider Scramjet Engine Demonstrator vehicle completed the longest ever, supersonic, combustion, ramjet-powered, hypersonic flight, during a mission performed off the coast of southern California. The more than 200-second burn by the Waverider's Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne-built air

Search - On This Day in Test History