Boeing X-32B JSF Demonstrator

Boeing X-32B JSF Demonstrator. . , Almost the Joint Strike Fighter In 1996 the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program awarded $750 million contracts to both Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Each contractor was to design and build two JSF demonstrators to compare different propulsion concepts. One aircraft was to feature conventional takeoff and landing for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. The other was to demonstrate the Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (STOVL) capability needed by the U.S. Marine Corps. Boeing's conventional demonstrator was designated X-32A; its STOVL aircraft was the X-32B. In 2000 and 2001, Boeing's X-32s and Lockheed's demonstrators (the X-35A and X-35B) were evaluated in flight trials at Edwards AFB and NAS Patuxent River. Neither competing design had weapons capability or low-observable (stealth) provisions. Lockheed's concept was ultimately chosen for further development and was awarded a contract to produce what became today's F-35., Our Display Aircraft The sole X-32B, our aircraft first flew on 29 March 2001. It was never assigned a Navy Bureau Number. After initial testing at Edwards AFB, the aircraft moved to NAS Patuxent River, where it participated in JSF flight trials between May and July 2001. In March 2005, the X-32B was transferred to PRNAM. The demonstrator had flown 78 flights and logged 43 flight hours.,

. Primary Mission: Stealth fighter/attack aircraft concept demonstrator , . Crew: One Pilot , . Flight Demonstration Period: 2000 - 2001 , . Max. Gross Weight: 50,000 lb , . Dimensions: 43.7 ft length, 30.0 ft wing span , . Propulsion: One Pratt and Whitney F199 turbofan engine , . Max Operating Speed: Mach 1.4+ , . Armament: None

, This aircraft is on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola, Florida .