NASA’s experimental supersonic aircraft X-59 Quesst reached a speed of Mach 1.2 on its 25th test flight. The test is now intended to lead to the next phase of test flights, in which the supersonic thumps caused by the aircraft when transitioning to supersonic speed are to be evaluated. The flight again showed that the sonic booms of the accompanying aircraft were louder than the flight noise generated by the X-59.
The X-59 test flight was carried out on August 21 by NASA’s NASA at Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The aircraft reached a speed of Mach 1.2, remaining below the previously achieved cruising speed of Mach 1.4 as planned. During the test flight, the X-59 reached an altitude of approximately 15,000 m. The total flight duration was 72 minutes.
Completion of the first test phase
The 25th test flight marks the completion of the first test phase, during which NASA engineers confirmed the predictions made using computer models, wind tunnel tests, and other methods. For example, in its flight tests, NASA uses a real-time digital twin to compare predictions from flight simulations with actual flight data. This allows progress to be precisely monitored.
The results of these tests are positive. The actual flight characteristics of the X-59 largely match the simulations. This applies to flight characteristics and controllability, as well as the aircraft’s response to the forces and stresses encountered during flight that deform the X-59. The aircraft’s stability was guaranteed at all times. There were also no excessive vibrations due to aerodynamic forces, according to NASA. Nils Larson, one of the test pilots of the machine, sums it up: The flights were “exciting but uneventful”.
