Special Guest: Art 'Turbo' Tomassetti

Test pilot Art "Turbo" Tomassetti was one of only a handful of pilots to fly the X-35 – which was of course, the precursor to the F-35. Famously, he flew "Mission X" which consisted of a short takeoff, level supersonic flight, and a vertical landing, which had not been accomplished before in a single flight. Turbo shares this story and more with members of the Hermeus Flight Test team. 00:00 – Introductions 02:47 – Difference between test pilots and pilots 08:17 – The allure of X-planes and first flights 14:49 – The F-35 "Hat Trick" and "Mission X" flights 22:36 – Preparation for a flight test mission 30:00 – The X-35 vs the X-32 34:37 – The challenges Hermeus is tackling 39:04 – Autonomous flight and pilots 43:58 – What is an aircraft you wished you has flown? 48:43 – Turbo, what are you up to today?