Dave Ferguson, as it ew from Palmdale
to Edwards AFB to enter the y-o . The
rst YF-22 (PAV-1) was powered by two
General Electric YF120-GE-100 turbofans.
The second aircraft (PAV-2, N22YX) was
powered by two Pratt & Whitney YF119-
PW-100 turbofan engines. It ew on
October 30, piloted by Tom Morgenfeld,
also from Palmdale to Edwards. The two
YF-22s were allocated USAF serial numbers
87-0700 and 87-0701, but only 87-
was ever applied and that was during later
testing in 1991.
Interestingly, there was a lot of emphasis
on credibility and ability to deliver on
promise. The two camps were invited
to submit sealed estimates of how they
expected their respective aircraft toperform, to be compared to the actual data
post- ight-test. This was a test of predicting
how their designs would perform.
The two YF-22s ew 74 test ights in
three months. The prototypes were not
required to be low observable, however
they did incorporate some radar absorbent
materials (RAM) but only as an initial
look at evaluating durability on high-
speed platforms. The ight test designs
were geared to ight performance, and
not designed to be representative of a
production aircraft. In early November
1990, the rst YF-22 sustained Mach
1.58 in supercruise — with reheat it
exceeded Mach 2. They YF-22s were soon
demonstrating their agility, with high alpha
handling, roll rates and then weapons work
— ring AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-
Sidewinder missiles from the side and
centre weapons bays. The initial DEM/VAL
phase of the YF-22 test programme was
completed on December 28, 1990, with
the two YF-22s accumulating a total of 91.
hours in 74 ights.GOING HEAD TO HEAD
Test pilot Paul Metz, who subsequently
joined Lockheed and made the rst ight
of the F-22A in 1997, was the chief test pilot
for the Northrop YF-23. From 1992-2001, he
served as Lockheed Martin’s Chief Test Pilot
for the F-22, and made the rst ight in the
F-22A Raptor on September 7, 1997.
Metz joined the USAF in 1968 and ew
operational missions in the F-105G Wild
Weasel in Southeast Asia. He ew 68
missions over North Vietnam including
a series against SAM and anti-aircraft
batteries in support of strike missions
in North Vietnam, earning him two
Distinguished Flying Crosses and six Air
Medals. In 1976 he graduated from the
USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards, before
he joined Northrop Aircraft in 1980 as
an Engineering Test Pilot. He and his
team played a crucial role in the YF-23,
which many to this day suggest was a
superior design in many ways. Metz,
with the unique position of having own
both the YF-23 and the F-22A, has never
publicly commented on their comparative
performance.
Explaining the ight test programme
between the YF-22 and the YF-23, Metz told
this publication: ‘The Air Force intentionally
separated the two teams physically in
the sense that we were not allowed to
communicate with each other. Interestingly
enough, we were in the same hangar —
the YF-22 on one side and the YF-23 on
the other. We honoured that requirement
of the Air Force except that myself as Chief
Test Pilot of the YF-23 and Dave FergusonA competitive engine demonstration/
validation (DEM/VAL) programme was
launched in September 1983 and ground
testing followed in 1986-87. Flight test
articles of Pratt & Whitney YF119s and
General Electric YF120s were ordered in
early 1988 and all four aircraft-engine
combinations were own in the Edwards
ight test programme.THE ENGINE
COMPETITIONBottom: Dave
Ferguson gets
airborne at
Palmdale for the
maiden ight
of the YF-22 on
September 29,
1990.
Inset: Dave
Ferguson with
the YF-22.
Ferguson sadly
passed away on
August 10, 2011.
He had joined
Lockheed in 1979
and retired as
director of ight
test in 1999.
Lockheed Martin/
Denny Lombard
Right top to
bottom: The
Northrop YF-23.
In late 1990,
the two ghters
went head-to-
head during the
demonstration
and validation
phase. USAF
Dave Ferguson
at the controls
of PAV-1 near
Edwards in 1990.
USAF
Tom Morgenfeld
made the rst
ight of PAV-2 on
October 30, 1990.
This YF-22 was
powered by two
Pratt & Whitney
YF119-PW-
turbofan engines.(^10) RAPTOR
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