The development of the X-66 demonstrator aircraft recently reached another milestone with the completion of wind tunnel testing at NASA’s Ames, California.
At the facility, the jet, which uses the Transonic Truss Braced Wing (TTBW) concept, was tested in a semi-span model measuring 11 feet (3.35 meters), that is, with only one side.
According to NASA, Ames was able to obtain engineering information to influence the design of the plane’s wing and provide data for flight simulators.
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The US space agency and Boeing had previously conducted other wind tunnel tests at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, with a full but smaller scale model.
Also called the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator (SFD), the X-66 aims to validate the wing configuration that is supposed to be able to offer less aerodynamic drag and thus generate fuel savings.
The SFD will have super thin and long wings that need to be supported by trusses, hence the name of the configuration.
Since the aircraft has high wings, it will be possible to use high dilution ratio turbofans, with diameters that are currently unfeasible in narrow-body aircraft.
Boeing is converting an MD-90 jet to receive the new configuration and it is expected to fly for the first time as the X-66 in 2028.
If approved, the new configuration could be used in the 737’s replacement in the next decade.
