BAE Systems test pilot Peter Wilson recently performed the first ever launch of an F-35B from a land-based ski jump ramp.
The jump took place on June 19th at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and was designed to prove the Lockheed Martin F-35B’s ability to take off safely and effectively from a ramp similar to the one that will be used on the UK’s new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier.
Ski-jump ramps aboard aircraft carriers are all the rage lately because they aid in launching a plane on takeoff with an upward flight path.
Besides the new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, Italy’s Cavour aircraft carrier also features a ski-jump for jets.
