World's Priciest Stealth Plane Takes First Run to Vertical Landing

The Air Force's A-1 model of Lockheed's stealth F-35 fighter jet

From Popular Mechanics

Needing a boost after a negative report leak, Lockheed Martin tested a prototype of its latest Joint Strike Fighter for the Marines today—a supersonic F-35 that lands like a chopper (with super lift engines) and thinks like a pilot (with a HAL-esque brain).

The skies over Fort Worth, Texas, hosted a historic aviation milestone today when the most expensive plane on Earth—a modded version of the F-35 Lightning II that lands vertically like a helicopter—made its first flight. Its pilot certainly had the chops to do the job: He learned to fly short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) airplanes when Jimmy Carter was president.

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My Comment: When you look at how much a copy goes for (2,458 planes for the Air Force, Navy and Marines at $299.8 billion), you can only hope this plane will meet its goals and objectives.