1st Dutch Pilot Flies the JSF

It is the first time that a Dutch Air Force pilot made a solo flight in the Joint Strike Fighter. Major Laurens Jan Vijge took off Wednesday from the American base, Eglin in Florida, for a 70-minute round flight, reported the Ministry of Defense.The Netherlands owns two JSF test aircrafts, stationed on the Eglin base, north of Florida. ' In the coming period 4 Dutch F-16 pilots will be trained on the new aircrafts,' according to Defense. Following the flight Major Vijge commented on the Defense website: 'fantastic! what a beautiful aircraft to fly. The way I feel is best compared to making a test drive in a new car and to know: this is it!'