Space
As NASA’s newest X-plane, the X-59 is designed to break the sound barrier without the thunderous sonic booms that typically occur when aircraft go supersonic. Instead, the Quesst will make a much quieter “thump,” similar to the sound of a car door slamming as heard from indoors. If successful, the jet has the potential to revolutionize supersonic flight and aviation in general.
After years of development, NASA and Lockheed Martin showed off the finished X-59 Quesst (“Quiet SuperSonic Technology”) today (Jan. 12) in front of a crowd of nearly 150 at the legendary Lockheed Martin Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, a research and development site typically known for its secrecy. More
And which UFO “encounter” gave them the technology for this one? More importantly, how many more trillion is going to be STOLEN to pay for this…all while millions of invaders pour over the border, and who cannot be repelled by ANY of this revolutionary technology.
I grew up, or tried to, in Southern Cal. Back in the late 60’s we had a sonic boom about every hour. I for one miss them.
Having said that, I imagine the reason this thing doesn’t have a front window is because they don’t plan on having a human fly it.
“This isn’t just an airplane, this is an X-plane,” Melroy added. “It’s the manifestation of a collaborative genius.” Meaning, it was designed without the yoke of an affirmative action program.
This is the first I’ve heard about this quiet plane.
Must work.
Brad
I remember hearing sonic booms frequently growing up there in the 50-60s too. Where in SoCal and when were you there, trying to grow up?
X-59, meet SST, who is…. er… um… in the boneyard.
Tina B
The Hawthorne, Englewood area. Before it ah, turned dark. We left in 68. So I’d guess the time frame was 1960 to 1968. If you were close to there you might remember the Tornado. I think that was 1966.
Me too. Sonic booms happened all the time in Pasadena in the 60s.
If you are a pilot that doesn’t look forward are you really a pilot or a passenger? Or an on board drone rider?
Brad.
We also left in 68 or 69. Something about riots and RFK assassination and Manson family gave dad a bad vibe. Understandably.
That camera system for landings is so yesterday. How do ya’ think Pelosi landed her broom at night in a snowstorm?
PHenry
It all changed after the Watts riots. I think that was 66. I can remember my dad breaking out all kinds of weaponry the my brother and I had no idea he had. All the men in the neighborhood were WWII vets back then. We even had one that fought for the Germans. LOL. They had a couple meetings and came up with a plan. It never got to us but it did change things.
Planes have a lot more performance if there aren’t worries about delicate onboard meatbags.
Let me know when they break the speed of light. Then maybe we’ll get to the vicinity of Alpha Centauri, four light years away and our closest neighbor in interstellar space.
The rest of the planets in our solar system are lifeless and always will be. Maybe they can be mined for raw materials some day but IMO they are no places for permanent human habitation.
@PHenry:
I think we can agree that Charles Lindbergh was a pilot. In the Spirit of St. Louis he swapped out the front windscreen for a big fuel tank.
I think the Watts riots happened in the summer of ’65, when I was 17. When it was going on, me and a friend paid a few dollars to go up in a small plane for a 20 minute ride. There was a whole lotta black smoke coming out of the vicinity of Watts.
I still remember reading about it in Look, Life, Time, or one of them that came out the next week. They had interviewed a rioter and he said, in effect: “Next time we’ll go up to Beverly Hills and burn that down”.
A lot of people, including me, were pretty dumfounded about the whole thing. LA was not the south, but it was an awakening to more inner city riots in Detroit, Newark, and other places over the next few years. While all that was happening, I think, the demand for useless sociology majors went way up, as the fed and state govt’s and businesses wanted quick answers and solutions.
That X59 reminds me of the disappointing X3.
And guys, I grew up in the SF Valley, and remember both sonic booms and Rocketdyne testing over in Santa Suzana, rattling the dishes on the shelf. Good times. I left in 74 and never looked back.
I grew up about 12 miles outside of Glenview NAS and those behemoth C118Bs would fly over all day long. Once one was approaching with a different sound, I ran outside and it flew right over the house with only 1 engine turning, 1 smoking and the other 2 dead, at around 500 ft. Never did hear what happened with that.
We also had A4 skyhawks that also weren’t capable of breaking the sound barrier. lol.
Oh and screw the NASA rollouts. The whole purpose is to show the plane and when the curtain finally drops after 2 hours of speeches jerking themselves off over it, the fuckers dim the lights and never give you a clear view.
But hey, we’ve had fly by wire for a long time now. Why not see by wire? Seems legit.
NASA makes The Boeing Company look competent in comparison. Both are an absolute farce, everything judged under the DEI lense with sound engineering totally subservient to politics. Social equity score is the primary criteria for advancement, which is bad enough, but when that is what everything from the correct assumptions being applied to who replaces the toilet paper and fills the tampon dispenser in the men’s room… you do the math.
The Stevie Wonder Wonder… or the Stevie Wonder(2)
With the synthetic vision and sophisticated 3-axis autopilots available in aircraft these days, you don’t need front windows in most planes now.
The Spirit of St. Louis had non, BTW.
TheMule – Yeah, but I dare ya to stick yer head out the side window of the X-59 at 80,000 feet!
Harry, you should’ve triple dog dared him. It would be far worse than sticking your tongue on a frozen flagpole are result in instaneous death.