7 Sep 1997

On This Day in History /
1997: F-22 Chief Test Pilot Paul Metz flew the Lockheed Martin-Boeing F-22 Raptor (F‑22A Block 1 Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) prototype, serial number 91‑4001, call sign “Raptor 01”), for the USAF for the first time from Dobbins ARB over Marietta and north Georgia. The aircraft reached 15,000 feet in altitude in three minutes, where Metz then tested its handling characteristics and engine performance.

On September 7, 1997, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Chief Test Pilot Alfred P. (“Paul”) Metz made history by flying the first F‑22A Block 1 Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) prototype, serial number 91‑4001, call sign “Raptor 01”, for the U.S. Air Force from Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia.