The 411th Flight Test Squadron is a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

squadron assigned to the

412th Operations Group The 412th Test Wing (412 TW) is a wing of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Overview The 412th Test Wing plans, conducts, analyzes, and reports on all flight and ground te ...

of Air Force Materiel Command, stationed at

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

, California. It conducted the Advanced Tactical Fighter program flyoff competition between the

Lockheed YF-22 The Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics YF-22 is an American single-seat, twin-engine fighter aircraft technology demonstrator designed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The design was a finalist in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter c ...

and

Northrop YF-23 The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 is an American single-seat, twin-engine stealth fighter aircraft technology demonstrator designed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The design was a finalist in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter ( ...

prototypes. Following the completion of the competition, the squadron has conducted testing of the

Lockheed Martin F-22 The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, ...

History

The squadron was first activated as the 6511th Test Squadron in March 1989 to conduct the Advanced Tactical Fighter program. It began flying the

on 27 August and the

on 29 September 1990, flying both through December 1990, though the airplanes were assigned to the manufacturers rather than to USAF. The YF-22 (and the

Pratt & Whitney F119 The Pratt & Whitney F119, company designation PW5000, is an afterburning turbofan engine developed by Pratt & Whitney for the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, which resulted in the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. The engine delivers thrust ...

engine) was declared the winner of the competition on 23 April 1991, and on 2 August 1991 both YF-22 prototypes were transferred to the Air Force.Rogers, Though the Number 1 YF-22 returned to the

Lockheed Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but ot ...

plant to become a ground test bed for production designs, the Number 2 aircraft flew with the 6511th until 25 April 1992, when it was extensively damaged in a landing mishap. The 6511th (redesignated the 411th Test Squadron in October 1992) then spent the next few years planning for the F-22 test program, and received the first Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor in February 1998. Edwards flight testing was completed in December 2004 and the

27th Fighter Squadron The 27th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 1st Operations Group located at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia. The 27th is equipped with the F-22 Raptor. The 27th Fighter Squadron is the oldest active fighter squad ...

at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia was the first squadron to transition to the Raptor, receiving the first operational aircraft 18 January 2005 from

Tyndall Air Force Base Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (325 ...

, Florida, where the 43d Fighter Squadron trained Raptor pilots. On 25 March 2009 an F-22 operated by a squadron pilot,

David P. Cooley David Paul Cooley (February 15, 1960 – March 25, 2009) was a Lockheed test pilot and retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer, responsible for developmental flight testing of the F-117 Nighthawk. He was killed while flying a test missi ...

, crashed 35 miles northeast of Edwards during a training flight. F-22 CRIIS Edwards

The squadron successfully tested the F-22 flying on a 50/50 fuel blend of conventional petroleum-based JP-8 and biofuel derived from

camelina ''Camelina'' is a genus within the flowering plant family Brassicaceae. The ''Camelina'' species, commonly known as false flax, are native to Mediterranean regions of Europe and Asia. Most species of this genus have been little studied, with the ...

, a weed-like plant not used for food, in March 2011. The overall test objective was to evaluate biofuel fuel blend suitability in the F-22. Testing consisted of air starts, operability, and performance at different speeds and altitudes throughout the flight envelope. The F-22 Raptor performed several maneuvers including a supercruiseSupercruise is supersonic flight without using the engine's afterburner. at 40,000 ft. reaching speeds of Mach 1.5.

Lineage

* Designated as the 6511th Test Squadron and activated on 10 March 1989 : Redesignated 411th Test Squadron on 2 October 1992 : Redesignated 411th Flight Test Squadron on 1 March 1994

Assignments

* 6510th Test Wing (later 412th Test Wing), 10 March 1989 *

, 1 October 1993 – present

Stations

, California, 10 March 1989 – present

Aircraft

* Lockheed YF-22, 1989–1991 * Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor, 1998–present * Northrop YF-23 Black Widow II, 1989–1991

History

Lineage

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft

Awards and campaigns

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links