A day in the life of an F-35 test pilot

At 100million a pop, you might expect F-35 fighter jets to take-off at the first time of asking. But the life of a test pilot is not that simple, with dozens of computer systems to calibrate and reset before the Air Force's most sophisticated plane can even taxi to the runway. Defense News got a glimpse of how testing F-35s works during a visit to Edwards Air Force Base in southern California. Major Raven LeClair, of the 461st flight test squadron, begins his day at around 10am by checking the plane for any issues. It immediately became clear that the day's testing would not pass without a hitch, with an alarm sounding as soon as he got to the aircraft.