ATF Rollouts and First Flights

Appearing before its YF-22A rival, the first of two Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23A
ATF prototype aircraft (87-0800) was unveiled on June 22, 1990 at Edwards Air Force Base
(EAFB). No new military aircraft had been first shown at Edwards before or after the Lockheed
YF-12A was revealed in 1964. During theYF-23A's rollout ceremony, it was announced
that the new ATF aircraft was equipped with two P&WYF119-PW-100 engines; the number
2 aircraft would be outfitted with two GE YF120-GE-100 engines.
The YF-23A began a series of low- and medium-speed taxi runs to evaluate nose wheel
steering, brakes, control feel, and other standard tests on July 7, 1990. On the following
August 27, Northrop chief test pilot A. Paul Metz completed a successful 50-minute first
flight of the YF-23A at EAFB. After taking off at 7:15 A.M. local time, the aircraft reached an
altitude of 25,000 ft and a top speed of Mn 0.70 before landing at 8:05 A.M. Functional
checks of basic subsystems were performed during its maiden flight. Following the flight,
Metz said, "The airplane flies very clean, much cleaner than we expected. During the
climbout I was using considerably less power than I expected, and the escorting aircraft
were on afterburners just to stay with me—with my landing gear down. It appears to have
a tremendous amount of excess thrust and that's exactly what we wanted with this airplane."
Two days later, the first of two Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics YF-22A ATF prototype
aircraft (N22YF) was publicly displayed inside Lockheed's Site 10 facility at U.S. Air
Force Plant 42, in Palmdale, California. This aircraft (called Prototype Air Vehicle 1 or
PAV-1) was fitted with two GEYF120-GE-100 engines.
The number 2 YF-22A (N22YX, and later, 87-0701) appeared next, but the late arrival of
its planned engines (two P&WYF119-PW-100s) slightly delayed its original rollout schedule.
The number 1YF-22A (nicknamed Lightning IP) made its first flight on September 29,
1990 with Lockheed ATF chief test pilot Dave Ferguson at the controls. During the 18-
minute flight from Palmdale to Edwards, Ferguson attained a speed of 288 mph (mi/h) and
an altitude of 12,500 ft. After the relatively short flight, he said, "It was a very easy airplane
to fly," adding, "I would be happy to put fuel in it and fly it this afternoon."
The second, GE-powered, YF-23A made its first flight on October 26,1990 with Northrop
test pilot Jim Sandberg at the controls. The flight lasted 44 minutes and the aircraft reached
an altitude of 15,000 ft and a speed of 360 mph.