Happy Birthday: Aircraft

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

16 years ago, company test pilot Jon Beesley took the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II into the air for the first time (Dec 15, 2006). Thus started the most expensive, comprehensive and controversial, flight-testing program in military aviation history.

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

58 years ago, Capt. Jack Harvey and a crew of seven, made the first combat flight of the Douglas AC-47 gunship (Dec 16, 1964). The modified transport aircraft also known nicknamed "Puff, the Magic Dragon" with its three-side firing miniguns became an instant hit!

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

75 years ago, the Boeing B-47 Stratojet made its first flight (Dec 17, 1947). With a maximum speed of 600 mph, a range of 4,000 miles, and aerial refuelling capability, it was a marvel of 50s technology and a became darling of Gen.Curtis LeMay.

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

52 years ago, Company Test Pilot Robert Smyth and Project Test Pilot William Miller made the first flight of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat at Grumman Aerospace Corporation plant, Calverton, Long Island, NY (Dec 21, 1970).

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

58 years ago, company test pilots Richard Johnson & Val Prahl took the GD F-111 Aardvark into the air for the first time (Dec 21, 1964). The F-111 with its slender fuselage, side-by-side seats, and swing wings was a radical design for the time.

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

58 years ago, test pilot Bob Gilliland made the first flight of the Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird at Palmdale, CA (Dec 22, 1964). The Mach 3 SR-71 became a symbol of US aviation prowess, and to this day, remains one of the greatest aircraft designs of all time

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[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

48 years ago, test pilot Col. Charles C. Bock, Jr., along with assistant pilot Col. Emil Sturmthal, and flight test engineer Richard Abrams, made the first flight of the Rockwell B-1 Lancer from the Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California (Dec 23, 1974).

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

33 years ago, the Sukhoi Su-30 "Flanker-C" made its maiden flight (Dec 31, 1989). A multirole derivative of the Su-27 family, the Su-30 was specially developed for long-range, long-endurance air-to-air and air-to-surface operations.

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

75 years ago, the Mikoyan–Gurevich MiG-15 “Fagot” made its maiden flight over Ramenskoye Aerodrome, Moscow (Dec 31, 1947). Powered by an unlicensed copy of the Rolls-Royce Nene engine, the small, agile, fast-climbing MiG came as a rude shock to the West in Korea.

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

12 years ago, the Chengdu J-20 "Mighty Dragon" made its first flight (Jan 11, 2011). In March 2017, J-20 became only the world's third operational fifth-generation air superiority fighter (after the F-22 & F-35).

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

70 years ago, the Convair F2Y Sea Dart, the unique seaplane fighter that rode on twin hydro-skis for takeoff made its maiden flight (Jan 14, 1953). Did you know that the Sea Dart was the world’s first and only supersonic seaplane?

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

49 years ago, company test pilot Phil Oestricher took the prototype General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon up for its first "official" test flight (Feb 2, 1974). The legend was born.

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

56 years ago, the Saab 37 Viggen, the #Swedish single-seat, single-engine fighter-bomber, made its maiden flight (February 8, 1967). Here's a photo of a Viggen lifting off with two burly RB04E anti-ship missiles.

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

68 years ago, test pilot Georgii Mosolov made the first flight of the prototype MiG-21 (Feb 14, 1955). Code-named “Fishbed” by NATO, the MiG-21 became the most widely produced and used Mach 2 fighter design of all time.

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

59 years ago, the Mikoyan & Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat, the Soviet "Superfighter," made its maiden flight (March 6, 1964). Solid & aggressive in appearance, and matchlessly fast in level flight and climb, the MiG-25 inspired respect since its first appearance.