The seventh of seven F/A-18E/F flight test aircraft, designated F/A-18E3, took off from Lambert International Airport in St. Louis at 1:26 pm CST Feb. 1, 1997 and arrived at Pax River 1.5 hours later. E3 was to be used for loads testing. The first Super Hornets, F/A-18E1 and F/A-18E2, were delivered to Pax River in February 1996. The seven flight test aircraft, along with three ground test articles, were part of the F/A-18E/F engineering and manufacturing development program.