Lockheed Martin Marks Aviation Milestone

Lockheed Martin marked a significant milestone in aviation history when it commemorated the 30th anniversary of the first flight of the F-16 jet fighter on Feb. 2. The first F-16 prototype, YF-16 No. 1, completed its first official flight on Feb. 2, 1974, from the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base (CA). "The YF-16 was a revolutionary technology demonstrator three decades ago," said John L. Bean, vice president of F-16 programs. "The technologies it introduced -- like fly-by-wire flight control, relaxed static stability, wing- body blending, variable camber wing, high-g cockpit, highly integrated digital avionics using a MIL-STD-1553 multiplex data bus and modular construction -- have become common fo