NASA Langley Puts Supersonic X-Plane Model To The Test

NASA Langley Puts Supersonic X-Plane Model To The Test

A day trip to Moscow? Paris for lunch? NASA’s quest for low-boom supersonic aircraft technology could one day revolutionize commercial air travel.

Now NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton is putting a sleek supersonic model plane through its paces in its 14-by-22 wind tunnel to move that vision closer to reality.

It’s called the QueSST aircraft design, for Quiet Supersonic Technology. And the idea is to convince Congress that super-fast commercial flights can be made over land — indeed, over communities — without generating that infamous sonic boom that can startle livestock, shatter windows and anger anyone within earshot. Supersonic flights over the U.S. were banned in 1973 because of those booms.

“We’re trying to lift those regulations, and we need data,” said David Richwine, QueSST planning lead at Langley. “In order to get the data, you need an airplane that can do that.”

NASA came up with a preliminary design for its QueSST X-plane with partner Lockheed Martin, and various models have been undergoing wind tunnel tests.

Glenn Research Center in Cleveland subjected a small 4-foot version to high wind speeds of Mach 1.5 and 1.6, or about 1,100 mph and 1,200 mph, to study aerodynamic performance and flight safety.

Now Langley is testing a larger model — 15 percent the size of an actual aircraft — at slower speeds to study its performance under different flap configurations and, especially, how it handles at lower speeds during take-off and landing. The 14-by-22 tunnel maxes out at 235 mph.