Structural loads testing on the Active Aeroelastic Wing F-18 in the Flight Loads Laboratory at NASA's Dryden flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The heavily modified and instrumented F-18A entered the Loads Lab in mid-March, 2001, for fit checks of loads hardware and instrumentation checkout prior to initiation of actual structural loads testing. The F-18A underwent loads testing on its modified wings for almost six months, followed by extensive systems tests and simulation before flight tests began.