Jump Jet F-35B Test Delayed

The first flight test of the F-35B Lightning II short take-off, vertical landing version of the jet -- originally scheduled for sometime at the end of March -- will be delayed until late September, the acting F-35 deputy program director said May 5 at the Navy League's Sea Air Space exposition in Washington, D.C.

There is good news, however.

Capt. Wade Knudson, the F-35 program's number two official, said that the delay will not cost taxpayers any more money. The reason is that he has apparently done an excellent job of managing one of the most difficult aspects of a major program -- when to hire people. Knudson said he had postponed hiring some of the people needed for the next phase of the program and has very few people "just sitting around" and waiting.

This is traditionally one of the greatest program costs incurred when a program faces a delay.

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Reasons for the delays: fixing an engine that failed during tests, "tweaking" the software controlling the leading edges of the wings and ensuring that the nine doors that open during STOVL flight all operate correctly.

And there's more good news for the program.

The F-35B jump jet had faced a serious weight problem and needed to shed upwards of 3,000 pounds. But the STOVL pit tests indicate that the plane now enjoys a surplus of power, possessing an "excess" 300 to 500 pounds of thrust, Knudson said. Given the cost of reducing weight is between $500,000 and $1 million per pound, Knudson was understandably proud of the program's success in putting the plane on a diet.