The General Dynamics YF-16 prototype makes a first, unplanned flight at Edwards AFB, Calif. As company test pilot Phil Oestricher conducts high-speed taxi tests, the aircraft lifts off the runway, and rather than risk damage to the aircraft, Oestricher elects to lift off and go around, making a normal landing.
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.
