Marine One (An Interview On The F-35 )

Major J.T. Bachmann pulls off the gloves and grins after an engine run in the F-35A.
(Lockheed Martin)

From Air And Space Smithsonian:

Meet J.T. Bachmann, the first USMC pilot to fly the Joint Strike Fighter.

Marine Corps test pilot Major J.T. Bachmann recently became the first U.S. Marine, the second military test pilot, and the fifth person overall, to fly the new F-35 Lightning II, or Joint Strike Fighter. Although his flight, at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas factory, was in the Air Force F-35A, Bachmann will begin flying the F-35B, the Marine Corps variant, with a short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) capability, this summer at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. Since his 80-minute flight on March 19, Bachmann has flown the JSF one other time; he answered a few questions from Air & Space Associate Editor Mike Klesius about the experience.

Read more ....