WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - As NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic jet takes to the air, its sleek configuration is now on display thanks to a key milestone it reached recently - flying wheels-up. The transition marks an important step in the aircraft's testing.
Experimental aircraft typically make their earliest test flights with the landing gear down, then begin retracting it after successfully meeting performance benchmarks. The X-59 flew wheels-up for the first time on April 3.
Piloted by NASA test pilot Jim 'Clue' Less, the aircraft departed from its home base at Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and flew for 90 minutes, reaching a maximum altitude of 20,000 feet and a top speed of approximately 460 mph.
Flying with the landing gear up allows the team to examine the performance of the X-59's streamlined profile, which is a key design element ensuring the aircraft can fly faster than the speed of sound with just a quiet thump instead of a loud sonic boom.
The X-59 has do far made eight test flights. The X-59 is at the center of NASA's Quesst mission to enable quiet commercial supersonic flight over land.
Quesst is the name of NASA Aeronautics' mission to help take the first step toward enabling commercial, faster-than-sound air travel over land. The X-59 experimental supersonic jet is designed with technology that reduces the loudness of a sonic boom to a gentle thump.
NASA will fly the X-59 over select U.S. communities and take surveys to record what people think of the quieter sonic thumps. This data will be delivered to U.S. and international regulators, who will consider setting new rules that allow supersonic flight over land, according to the U.S. space agency.
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