Photo: UK's second F-35B makes inaugural flight

On Jul. 11, 2012, F-35B BK-2 took the air from NAS Fort Worth JRB for the aircraft’s inaugural flight. Piloted by Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti, the second F-35 produced for the United Kingdom (serial number ZM136), flew a 1.4-hour maiden flight.

It will join other F-35s at the training center at Eglin AFB, Florida, later this year.

BK1, the UK’s first of three development aircraft (serial ZM135), made its inaugural test flight on Apr. 13.

Image credit: Lockheed Martin

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.