A Closer Look at T-7A Flight Testing

The Boeing/Saab T-7A is currently undergoing flight testing at Edwards AFB, California. Let's take a closer look at a test mission conducted September 3, 2024. As a reminder, the data provided here comes from publicly available ADS-B data downloaded from popular websites like ADS-B Exchange, FlightRadar24, FlightAware, etc. 

In the first half of the flight, the aircraft completed some test points at altitude as shown in the flight summary below.

The most interesting part of the flight was near landing. It appears they performed three simulated emergency procedures, engine out perhaps. Whereas a normal 3 deg approach is around 1000 ft/min descent rate, these three tests reached maximums around 5500 to 6500 ft/min. Quite sporty.