June 23

What happened on June 23 in aviation and space history.

• June 23, 2001

  The X-35B makes the first vertical take-off and landing with a shaft-driven lift fan

  Milestone — The X-35B, flown by BAE Systems pilot Simon Hargreaves, took off and landed vertically for the first time, debuting in flight the lift fan driven by a shaft from the engine. The system produced close to 40,000 pounds of lift and vindicated the concept Lockheed Martin had championed against Boeing's direct-lift arrangement. The flight opened the demonstrator's intensive STOVL test phase, its conventional flight requirements having already been met as the X-35A.

• June 23, 2014

  First major damage to an F-35: engine fire at Eglin

  Accident — An F-35A of the 58th Fighter Squadron suffered a fire in its rear section during take-off at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The pilot aborted the roll and evacuated the aircraft unhurt, but the damage exceeded fifty million dollars and forced a fleet-wide flight suspension. The investigation traced the failure to a fractured F135 engine blade caused by rubbing against its stator.