An Air Force Academy graduate will be the lead test pilot for a new needle-nosed jet NASA is rolling out Friday that will not make the same boom as the supersonic planes of the past.  

“Yeager broke the sound barrier and now we are trying to fix it,” joked test pilot David Nils Larson, referencing Capt. Chuck Yeager who broke the sound barrier in 1947. 

The X-59’s shape, featuring a long nose, is meant to reduce the sonic boom to a thump on par with the sound of a car door closing, according to NASA. 

The thunderous booms led the FAA to ban supersonic commercial flights over land. If the X-59 designs are successful they could eventually be applied to commercial planes. Those features could include the distinctive long nose and an external view system needed because the nose prevents pilots from having a windscreen. The external view system relies on cameras on top and below the plane connected to monitors inside. 

“It’s as good as a normal window, if not better,” Larson said, noting the view via the cameras can be enhanced. 

Larson said he hopes the first test flights of the research plane can start this year after ground testing and taxi testing.  

An experienced supersonic pilot, Larson said he expects one of the challenges with the plane will be slowing down because it doesn’t have speed brakes or spoilers. He anticipates some tweaks in design may be needed and some procedures may have to be developed to address that issue. 

It will also take an experienced pilot, because it is a “Frankenplane,” pieced together with components of F-16, F-15s, F-18s and T-50s. 

The first flight will of course focus on a safe landing, and the plane will see “a number of flights” before a pilot tests its supersonic capabilities, he said. NASA is planning for four to six flights over communities to gather data on sound. 

The test pilots will wear partial pressure garments, similar to those worn by F-22 pilots, during testing so that they can survive in the event of loss of cabin pressure. The plane is also outfitted with the same ejection seat as T-38s. 

It will likely take at least a decade before the principles from the research plane make their way to commercial industry, Larson speculated, because so much work lies ahead including changing regulations. 

NASA is livestreaming the rollout of the plane at 2 p.m. Friday on YouTube.  

NASA test pilot, Nils Larson, inspects the X-59 cockpit displays and lighting system during system checkouts. The External Vision System (XVS) is displayed on the top screen, and the avionics flight displays, which can show navigation information or aircraft status, are shown on the bottom two screens.  

Garry Tice, Lockheed Martin Photography

NASA is rolling out the new X-59 Friday. The new supersonic plane will not create the boom created by crossing the sound barrier.  

courtesy of NASA