F-22 #07-146 is back flying again after 5-years of restoration
Posted on May 7, 2023 by alert5
F-22 #07-0146 is back flying in the skies after a 5-year period of restoration. On May 4, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Philip Johnson, a functional-check-flight pilot assigned to the 514th Flight Test Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, flew the newly restored aircraft for the first time. The journey to restore this fighter jet to operational status was a challenging one, requiring the efforts of several agencies, units, and most importantly, a team of skilled airmen who worked tirelessly to make it happen.
Tail number AF-07-146, an F-22 Raptor assigned to the 3rd Wing, successfully takes off during its functional check flight at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 4, 2023. This functional check flight was the last test conducted over a five-year period to get aircraft 146 operational after its crash at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, in 2018. The flight was successful and aircraft 146 returned to the operational fleet that same day. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class J. Michael Peña)
One of the airmen involved in the rebuilding process was U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kyle Veurink, an F-22 artisan assigned to the 90th Aircraft Maintenance Unit. He joined the team in early 2022 and helped finish the final year of tests and repairs. When Veurink joined the project, the aircraft was missing multiple flight controls, its engines and seat weren’t installed, and its panels merged into fuel cells. Veurink and his team traveled to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, where they cannibalized parts such as the leading edge, two flaps, and a seat off another F-22 that had undergone a similar rebuilding process after a mishap there.
https://alert5.com/2023/05/07/f-22-07-146-is-back-flying-again-after-5-years-of-restoration/#more-97477
