Going Vertical

By Dan Taylor / March 17, 2010 at 5:00 AM

The first full vertical landing of the Marine Corps' F-35 Joint Strike Fighter short-take-off, vertical-landing (STOVL) test aircraft, BF-1, is expected to be conducted tomorrow if weather cooperates, according to a source familiar with the program.

A Wednesday flight was canceled due to high crosswinds, but the aircraft successfully completed a hover and short take-off at 90 knots today, according to the source, who added that a full vertical landing was expected at around noon tomorrow.

The highly anticipated event has been delayed for months as glitches turned up during testing and weather did not cooperate with the test schedule.

The STOVL variant is slated to replace the Marines' fleet of AV-8B Harriers on the decks of the service's amphibious ships, and potentially on aircraft carriers as well.

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