NASA’s quiet supersonic plane flies

The X-59 will generate less “sonic punch” thanks to its unique design. It was given a long, slender nose that represented about a third of the total length and refracted pressure waves that would otherwise be embedded in other parts of the aircraft. The engine was mounted above the X-59’s fuselage, rather than below it as in fighter aircraft, to maintain a smooth underside that limited shock waves and also to direct sound waves into the sky rather than down toward the ground. NASA aims to provide basic data to aircraft manufacturers so they can build faster, less noisy planes.

An aircraft like no other

The X-59 is a single-seat, single-engine jet aircraft. It is 99.7 feet long and 29.5 feet wide, making it nearly twice the length of an F-16 fighter jet but with a slightly smaller wingspan. Cockpit and ejection seat of the X-59 Comes from the T-38 jet trainer, that it The landing gear is from an F-16, and its joystick is from the F-117 stealth attack plane. Its engine, a General Electric F414 modified from the F/A-18 fighter jet, will allow the plane to fly Cruise at Mach 1.4, about 925 mph, at 55,000 feet.. That’s nearly twice the speed at which commercial airplanes typically fly.

Perhaps the most striking change to the X-59 is that it does not have a glass cockpit window. Instead, the cockpit is completely enclosed to be as aerodynamic as possible The pilot watches a live camera feed of the outside world on a 4K screen Known as the external vision system.

“You can’t see very clearly through the glass when you’re looking at it from a very shallow angle, so you need a certain degree of slope for the viewing screen to have good optical qualities, and that would develop a strong shock wave that would spoil the low boom characteristics of the aircraft,” he says. Michael Bonannoair vehicle commander for the X-59 at Lockheed Martin.

On this maiden flight, the X-59 flew at a lower altitude and at a speed of about 240 mph, according to NASA. During future tests, the plane will gradually increase its speed and altitude until it reaches supersonic speed, which occurs at about 659 mph at an altitude of 55,000 feet, or 761 mph at sea level, NASA said. Speed ​​of sound It varies with temperature and with less pressureWhich leads to its decrease at high altitudes.

“The main goal on the first flight is to land only.” James is notan X-59 project pilot who will conduct future flights, tells WIRED. An F-15 fighter jet took off in formation with an X-59 as a support aircraft during the flight, monitoring the new experimental aircraft for any problems.