What It Is Like Flying The Most Advanced F-15 Eagle Ever Built
A test pilot's perspective on Qatari F-15QA trials that will pave the way to deliveries in 2021, and help the development of the USAF’s new F-15EX.
ByJamie HunterNovember 30, 2020
The War Zone
Boeing is engaged in a period of intensive flight-testing of its latest variant of the F-15, which is on order for the Qatar Emiri Air Force. The F-15QA is the most state-of-the-art variant of the Eagle to date, building upon the F-15SA that was developed for Saudi Arabia. Qatar has ordered 36 F-15QAs, which are the first to feature a new Advanced Cockpit System with Large Area Displays, among other improvements. The F-15QA is the variant upon which the U.S. Air Force’s new F-15EX will be based.
Boeing announced the first flight of the F-15QA on April 14, 2020, which took place at the manufacturer’s Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, Missouri. Three F-15QAs are currently in Boeing’s flight-test program, with two examples having been dispatched to Air Force Plant 42 at Palmdale, in California, for intensive trials in November. “This is largely a mission systems and cockpit test effort, focusing on these key areas,†explained Boeing Chief Test Pilot Matt “Phat†Giese, speaking exclusively to The War Zone.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/37802/what-its-like-test-flying-the-most-advanced-f-15-eagle-ever-built
