At Edwards AFB, Calif., Grumman pilot Chuck Sewell makes the first flight of the X-29A forward-swept wing demonstrator. The X-29s, two of the most unusual aircraft ever built, are designed to prove the aerodynamic benefits of wings that appear to have been put on backwards.
The United States Air Force is flying less than historic norms and funding for acquisition and readiness is on a path to further hollow out this too small and old force to that is incapable of sustaining an enduring combat air campaign.
