(Posted 06th March 2025)
Above: NASA teams tested a model of the X-66 with a nearly 6-foot wingspan at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The Low-Speed Wind Tunnel captured measurements of forces such as lift and drag throughout various aerodynamic configurations and flight conditions. (NASA photo)
Boeing’s X-66 Sustainable Flight Demonstrator has successfully completed its first wind tunnel tests, marking a significant milestone in design validation. These tests pave the way for future breakthroughs in sustainable aviation, as the X-66 aims to revolutionize air travel with its innovative wing design.
Why it matters: Before a full-size demonstrator of the X-66 can fly, the airplane’s design needs to be validated using smaller models of the airplane.
- The X-66 aims to revolutionize aviation with its transonic truss-braced wing design, potentially setting a new standard for sustainable air travel.
- The design integrates extra-long wings stabilized by diagonal struts, enhancing aerodynamic efficiency.
A semi-span X-66 model was tested at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley in its 11-Foot Transonic Unitary Plan Facility. The model underwent tests representing expected flight conditions to obtain engineering information to influence design of the wing and provide data for flight simulators. (NASA photo)
Testing: Utilizing NASA’s wind tunnel facilities, the airplane completed two wind tunnel tests.
- The first was a low-speed test using a model of the X-66 with a nearly 6-foot wingspan at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
- The team captured measurements of forces such as lift and drag throughout many aerodynamic configurations and flight conditions.
- Next, a semi-span model of the X-66, designed to represent half the aircraft, underwent high-speed testing at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
- This test replicated expected flight conditions to obtain engineering information to influence design of the wing and provide data for flight simulators.
- Semi-span tests take advantage of symmetry. The forces and behaviors on a model of half an aircraft mirror those on the other half. By using a larger half of the model, engineers increase the number of surface pressure measurements.
What’s next: The data from these tests informed any design adjustments necessary before advancing to additional tests.
- A full-span model of the X-66 is currently undergoing high-speed wind tunnel testing at NASA’s Ames Research Center.
- Modification of an MD-90 airplane to become the X-66 continues, with ground and flight testing expected to begin in 2028.
