45. Paul Metz Was the First Pilot to Fly the YF-23 & the F-22
Paul Metz and his staff collaborated with engineers on the Northrop-McDonnell Douglas fifth-generation fighter jet contestant the YF-23. After selecting the YF-22, Mets worked two years on the B-2 bomber program serving as an engineering test pilot. He later became Lockheed Martin’s Chief Test Pilot for the F-22 ATF. He worked on it from 1992-2001. On September 7, 1997, he made the first flight on the F-22A.