NASA gets ok to proceed with X-59 plane

[KILTED COWBOY]

Quiet supersonic technology on the X-59 plane to user in supersonic transportation again with much lower sound level reduced or no sonic boom.

https://www.foxnews.com/tech/nasas-quiet-supersonic-plane-gets-final-assembly-approval

 

[Peartree]

And the technology developed will undoubtedly find it's way into military aircraft.

 

[Nytrunner]

 

[kuririn]

IIRC because of the long nose it uses a camera system to land. Wonder how the pilot is going to land the plane if there's a malfunction with the camera?
And the Fox news article mentioned "All Electric". What's up with that? So on a transatlantic run it would need a reeeaaaalllyyy long cord?
All for quieter SSTs. Instead of a SONIC BOOM,
a sonic boom.

 

[wrad]

I can see the attraction, my grandparents had a house on the Atlantic cost in Cornwall in the uk, when concord was still flying it would decelerate out at sea, but if the weather conditions were right the sonic boom used to role in across the water and rattle the hell out of the windows, I believe one or 2 were even broken at one point. They definitely need to tackle the boom if they want to make supersonic commercial flights commonplace.

 

[OverTheTop]

NASA’s X-59 Aircraft Being Prepared For Ground Tests​

The Drive (7/6) reports Lockheed Martin’s “latest photos of the experimental X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology aircraft, or QueSST, built by the company Skunk Works for NASA, provide perhaps the best view so far of its radical forward-vision system, as well as revealing the jet in an increasingly complete state.” According to The Drive, the “latest series of images shows NASA’s X-59 on the flight line at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, on June 19, 2023.” NASA said, “The move from its construction site to the flight line is one of many milestones that prepare the X-59 for its first and subsequent flights. … Next up, the team will conduct significant ground tests to ensure the aircraft is safe to fly.” Lockheed Martin also posted a new photo to Twitter on July 6, “explaining that the aircraft has been moved to a ‘run stall’ on the flight line at Palmdale, for further ground testing, including vibration testing.” The Drive states that “after initial flight tests, the all-important noise testing will begin, culminating in a planned series of missions that will explore how communities actually respond to the aircraft’s sound when it passes overhead.”
AIAA Daily Launch 7JULY2023

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/x-59-supersonic-test-jet-looks-positively-sci-fi-head-on

 

[Hobie1dog]

no forward facing visibility?

 

[cls]

no forward facing visibility?

It's overrated. Ever try landing Concorde, or XB-70?

 

[kuririn]

It's overrated. Ever try landing Concorde, or XB-70?

Both Concorde and the XB-70 had forward visibility.
Pilot visibility on the Concorde was enhanced with its' droopable nose.

The XB-70 had large cockpit windows placed well forward.
It also had two sets of windshields. One for supersonic flight which was lowered during takeoff and landing.



The X-59 has ZERO forward visibility and relies on cameras for landing and takeoff.
If that system glitches out while in flight then the pilot will be unable to land and must eject.
If it's a commercial plane with passengers instead of an experimental plane, then.........
BIG PROBLEM!

 

[kuririn]

Musing: We just had our elevated rail system go into service here the other day.
There are no drivers in the trains, all automated from a central control station.
I wonder how airline passengers would feel about flying in a remotely piloted or an automated. pilotless plane?

 

[user 13]

Landing with the HUD symbology and synthetic vision should pose no real issue in the X-59.
I have hand flown a HUD approach down to 30 ft ceilings and 400 ft forward visibility (in the sim). There is
no real depth perception in that situation, the symbology in the HUD works. My airline is working on putting
synthetic vision on the HUD along with the symbology to do zero/zero landings. The pandemic slowed things down, but it's coming..
I'm sure a commercial passenger aircraft will have other, redundant vision systems also.

I don't think we will have a pilotless airliner for a long time, not that I'm biased.

 

[Buster]

CAT 3 Autoland

 

[OverTheTop]

Landing with the HUD symbology and synthetic vision should pose no real issue in the X-59.
I have hand flown a HUD approach down to 30 ft ceilings and 400 ft forward visibility (in the sim). There is
no real depth perception in that situation, the symbology in the HUD works. My airline is working on putting
synthetic vision on the HUD along with the symbology to do zero/zero landings. The pandemic slowed things down, but it's coming..
I'm sure a commercial passenger aircraft will have other, redundant vision systems also.

I don't think we will have a pilotless airliner for a long time, not that I'm biased.

CAT 3 Autoland

Full auto-land with rollout is a thing of beauty and precision.

 

[OverTheTop]

AIAA Daily Launch 13OCT2023

NASA Delays Test Flights Of X-59 To 2024​

Aviation Week (10/12) in paywalled coverage reports NASA “has pushed back the first flight of the X-59 low-boom supersonic demonstrator to 2024 after a series of subsystem issues encountered during check-out tests at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, late this summer proved harder to solve than expected.”

 

[Buster]

Full auto-land with rollout is a thing of beauty and precision.

FDX has CATIII + HUD w/FLIR Ues CAT3 Autoland with rollout is really kool just don’t miss the turn off.

 

[David J]

FDX has CATIII + HUD w/FLIR Ues CAT3 Autoland with rollout is really kool just don’t miss the turn off.
[/

Full auto-land with rollout is a thing of beauty and precision.

Garmin AutoLand

 

[cwbullet]

Fascinating idea and project. Can't wait for the Estes kit.

 

[dr wogz]

Very cool!! almost the Stiletto's bigger (and more successful) little brother..


as a side note on supersonic commercial travel:
Interesting article about a pretty much now abandoned "International airport" that was to be the main N. American Hub for supersonic (Concord) flights between Europe & N. America

https://www.airporthistory.org/mirabel-1.html
oh, to dream in the late 60's early 70's...

 

[user 13]

Sadly Concord (and the Boeing SST) was doomed from the start. The economics were never
viable.

I'm not sure the economics are there for the new batch of SST airliners. Time will tell.

The ability to fly supersonic overland will help, but not solve the fuel burn per passenger problem.