Lockheed Martins X-59 Unveiled

Here’s Lockheed Martin’s latest effort with your tax dollars……



A kinetic kamikaze

Wooopee!

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a reply to: Ophiuchus1

As far as I'm aware it's just a proof of concept in an effort to make supersonic flight legal over the US...

I watched the unveiling. They explained how the shape reduces drag and sonic boom. No windows to look out of in the cockpit.

originally posted by: Terpene
a reply to: Ophiuchus1

As far as I'm aware it's just a proof of concept in an effort to make supersonic flight legal over the US...

Aren’t most “X” planes…. One Offs?

Then comes the variants if it’s viable to continue development.

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originally posted by: Morrad
I watched the unveiling. They explained how the shape reduces drag and sonic boom. No windows to look out of in the cockpit.

No windows, huh? So no Plan B if all systems fail?

originally posted by: Terpene
a reply to: Ophiuchus1

As far as I'm aware it's just a proof of concept in an effort to make supersonic flight legal over the US...

Is that the one that sends the boom up instead of down to the ground? I remember hearing something like that.

a reply to: Bluntone22

That's the idea they tried to implement.

originally posted by: Ophiuchus1
Here’s Lockheed Martin’s latest effort with your tax dollars……

So, are you saying that public, tax, funds are being used to make a toy for the super-rich?

We progressed so far so fast in aviation with just slide rules.

Now we have massive computing power and so little admitted progress.

Seems off to me.

Cool plane though.

a reply to: quintessentone. I was thinking the same thing. Its not a design quirk. It is called a flush cockpit which is needed to prevent drag. It has a 4k digital windscreen via 2 cameras. Planes pretty much fly themselves these days. I would imagine a windscreen could be the difference between life and death with a total system fail.

originally posted by: Morrad
a reply to: quintessentone. I was thinking the same thing. Its not a design quirk. It is called a flush cockpit which is needed to prevent drag. It has a 4k digital windscreen via 2 cameras. Planes pretty much fly themselves these days. I would imagine a windscreen could be the difference between life and death with a total system fail.

Well the jet engine is GE's F414-GE-100 and it appears GE knows what it is doing, so all good.

blog.geaerospace.com...

a reply to: Bluntone22

It disperses the boom behind it so the waves don’t add up to a compression boom.

Several other designs (including the black triangle, reportedly) have been using 4K cameras (prolly 8K or more) for a while (we have a couple threads speculating about the one that leaves a green light).

This unveiling was boring if you have been following the development. The wind tunnel test gave all this info. I thought that this was going to be the first flight! All the articles made it seem like that was going to be the case. At least we know that there will be “sonic boom” flights over cities.

Again with the 2035 year… hum??

If LM could have only done that with their compact fusion reactor!!

Still, nice to see progress (and hints at future tech)! I am still glad to see this despite my moaning!!

a reply to: BrucellaOrchitis

No. It's being used to determine shaping required for supersonic flight to occur over land. The reason Concorde was only for well off people is because it wasn't economically feasible, because it couldn't go supersonic over land, so would have to fly 250 miles out to sea before going supersonic, before slowing down 250 miles out to sea before its destination. So the only places it could feasibly fly to were coastal cities. They could fly to inland cities, but would be no better than any other plane flying. If a plane can be built at the same size, with almost no sonic signature while flying supersonic, so it could fly over populated areas, it would become economically feasible and ticket prices would come down.

a reply to: pianopraze

Progress is being made in leaps and bounds, but it's in areas that the public has no interest or knowledge of like more efficient engines, composite materials and the like. Aviation, like all technology occasionally plateaus until something new is developed and found. We're on one of those plateaus while materials science evolves and advances.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Cheers Zaphod, I have read the bumpf

The X-59 is an experimental aircraft only; it is not a prototype design for a commercial airliner and will never carry passengers. Its unique shape and set of technologies reduce the loudness of a sonic boom reaching the ground to that of a gentle thump.

www.nasa.gov...

Obviously overcoming the sonic boom issue is fundamental to the feasibility of commercial development. Assuming those tests prove successful and it is decided that development of a passenger carrying prototype is viable, would private or rather corporate investors take over? Will public funds then recoup on their investment?

a reply to: BrucellaOrchitis

If they prove successful, and there’s enough interest, then yes, an aircraft developer will design and build a commercial aircraft. There’s definite interest in reviving the SST though. Boom is developing a small, normal SST and has orders from several airlines for the larger version.

The X-59 is built by Lockheed, but is actually a NASA program. Most people forget that the first A in NASA is Aeronautics, and don’t realize how many aviation programs they run.

I can hear the Karens yelling, they can already hear the boom and it scared their cats!!

originally posted by: mikell
I can hear the Karens yelling, they can already hear the boom and it scared their cats!!

Well it looks like the future may herald in rights for pets as is the case with the changing of Family Law in Canada (B.C.) where pets are no longer property, so if a couple is in a divorce and the one holding custody of that scaredy cat of sonic booms, then the court may very well rule to change custody. The times they are a changing.

a reply to: mikell

The Edwards air show a couple years ago did a double sonic boom demonstration. The first was an F-18 that did a rolling dive as he went supersonic. That boom actually arrived after the F-15 that was straight and level. They were trying to show what they expect from the X-59, and the difference was staggering.