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[Chuffer]

NASA's X-59 'quiet' supersonic jet makes historic 1st flight today​

NASA's X-59 has finally taken flight.

The X-59 is NASA's experimental new jet built to break the sound barrier without generating the thunderous sonic booms typically associated with supersonic flight.

After taxiing out of the U.S. Air Force's (USAF) Plant 42 facility, the X-59 took off from the Palmdale Regional Airport in California today (Oct. 28) at 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413 GMT), according to aircraft tracker Flightradar24.
The airport and USAF facility share a runway.
Videos and photos were posted to social media by aircraft spotters and photographers, showing the radically elongated X-59 taking off before flying north out of Palmdale. Photographer Jarod Hamilton caught the X-59 as it left the ground, making a steep climb into the air above the Mojave Desert.
Based on the X-59's track, it appears the X-plane flew oval-shaped "racetrack" patterns over the U.S. Air Force's Edwards Air Force Base for just over an hour before landing at the facility.

NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center is located at the base. After this first flight, the X-59 will now reside at Armstrong, where it will undergo a testing campaign that will involve flying the jet over microphones placed throughout the desert and trailing other aircraft equipped with special air sensors through its shockwaves .

The X-59 was designed by NASA and built by Lockheed Martin at the company's storied Skunk Works facility in Palmdale. The aircraft was designed from the wheels up to be able to fly faster than the speed of sound without producing loud sonic booms, which can be disruptive to people on the ground below. Because of those booms, supersonic flight has been prohibited above land within a certain distance of the U.S. since 1973.

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Looks a bit like Northrop T - 38 Talon streeeeeaaaached to the limit ! And that was the worlds fastest supersonic advanced trainer way back in 1961 , I had plastic kit model of one when I was kid .

 

[Roscobbc]

Looks a bit like Northrop T - 38 Talon streeeeeaaaached to the limit ! And that was the worlds fastest supersonic advanced trainer way back in 1961 , I had plastic kit model of one when I was kid .

Makes me laugh......we have idiots out there now believing and inferring that we'll be seeing passenger airliners flying at speeds in excess of Mach 1 in the next few months FFS. The X59 is just a test bed to prove the theory.....translating that in to regular passenger transport for the masses will never happen.....even for the wealthy elite it'll take many years before we see it.

 

[Chuffer]

Makes me laugh......we have idiots out there now believing and inferring that we'll be seeing passenger airliners flying at speeds in excess of Mach 1 in the next few months FFS. The X59 is just a test bed to prove the theory.....translating that in to regular passenger transport for the masses will never happen.....even for the wealthy elite it'll take many years before we see it.

A bit late to the party ! Concord has had been there and done that years ago !!

 

[antijam]

A bit late to the party ! Concord has had been there and done that years ago !!

....but not without the 'boom'. My first professional job was as a design engineer on Concorde and the aerodynamic compromises on the form of the aircraft were even then a constraint on the payload capacity - Concorde cabin space was very restricted compared to contemporary subsonic passenger aircraft.
While the X59 may well offer solutions to achieving 'boom-less' supersonic flight it's difficult to see the current shape being compatible with commercial passenger flight.
While many countries, including the UK and USA curtailed supersonic flight by Concorde over land, the French were less restrictive. Back in the 80's and 90's we had an old farmhouse in France that I was renovating.....


....and this had a slate roof. Many times when I was working up in the loft Concorde would pass over and the shock wave would rattle every one of the slates, making me jump out of my skin!
Had Concorde been capable of 'silent' supersonic flight this would have certainly improved its economic viability, but I don't think the X59 heralds a new era of supersonic transport just yet.

 

[Chuffer]

....but not without the 'boom'. My first professional job was as a design engineer on Concorde and the aerodynamic compromises on the form of the aircraft were even then a constraint on the payload capacity - Concorde cabin space was very restricted compared to contemporary subsonic passenger aircraft.
While the X59 may well offer solutions to achieving 'boom-less' supersonic flight it's difficult to see the current shape being compatible with commercial passenger flight.
While many countries, including the UK and USA curtailed supersonic flight by Concorde over land, the French were less restrictive. Back in the 80's and 90's we had an old farmhouse in France that I was renovating.....

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....and this had a slate roof. Many times when I was working up in the loft Concorde would pass over and the shock wave would rattle every one of the slates, making me jump out of my skin!
Had Concorde been capable of 'silent' supersonic flight this would have certainly improved its economic viability, but I don't think the X59 heralds a new era of supersonic transport just yet.

I well remember the French Concord out on test flights in 1970 from memory . Me and my mates had been bumming around France and Spain in our old Commer Van and we camped outside Biarritz for a week . Several times Concord flew over heading out over the Atlantic , the noise was awesome !!

 

[Roscobbc]

It seem whilst the X59 would appear to remove the sonic boom as we know it........seems to transpose the 'boom' into excess noise (which I guess will have the tree huggers and enviromentalist condeming it).

 

[teamzr1]

US Navy having a Fun Day

 

[teamzr1]

US Navy says
No illegal drugs delivery today !