San Diego, Ca. – The F-35C Lightning II completed its first night operations aboard an aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego Thursday night.
Navy test pilot Lt. Cmdr. Ted “Dutch” Dyckman piloted F-35C test aircraft CF-03 for the inaugural night flight from the USS Nimitz.
An F-35C prepares to launch from the USS Nimitz. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin by Andy Wolfe/Released)
At 6:01 p.m. Dyckman conducted a series of planned touch and goes before making an arrested landing at 6:40 pm, according to a release from the Navy.
The night flight was part of Development Testing I (DT-I) for the F-35C, which began Nov. 3 and is expected to last two weeks.
Through Nov. 13, two test F-35C aircraft have completed 28 flights for a combined 34.5 flight hours and accomplished more than 75 percent of test requirements. The aircraft also performed 108 catapult launches, 215 planned touch-and-go landings, two long touch and go landings, 110 arrested landings and zero bolters (failures to catch an arresting cable on the flight deck.)
The fifth-generation fighter will deploy to the fleet in 2018.
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