New X-Plane is under construction

Kinja'd!!! "Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)" (bman76-4)
06/16/2020 at 10:08 • Filed to: None

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This will be the first proper piloted X-plane in 3 decades!

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DISCUSSION (22)


Kinja'd!!! boredalways > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
06/16/2020 at 10:15

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I don't have my glasses on, so at first glance I'm like "Oooo, pretty Lego set!".


Kinja'd!!! WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
06/16/2020 at 10:16

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Doesn’t look like all the X-Men can fit in there but ok.


Kinja'd!!! ttyymmnn > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
06/16/2020 at 10:18

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The X-59 will then be flown over select communities in the United States – still to be chosen – so residents can help provide information to NASA about their reaction to the sound of the sonic “thump.”

Operation Bongo II I! Because Operation Bongo II   went so well. Of course, that was more a matter of seeing just how many normal sonic booms per day people could tolerate. The answer: not very many.


Kinja'd!!! For Sweden > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
06/16/2020 at 10:20

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Kinja'd!!! facw > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
06/16/2020 at 10:21

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Hmm, I guess you are sort of right on that “proper piloted X- plane” claim.

We have of course had piloted X planes but it seems to me:

The X-32 and X-35 probably aren’t proper X-Planes, they probably should have been YF-32 and YF-35 instead.

The X-55, X-53, and X-49 were proper piloted experimental aircraft, but being modified versions of existing planes does take a bit of the shine off. Also the X-49 is a helicopter, not a plane.

The X-38 flew, and was designed to be piloted, but I don’t think it ever was. If it was piloted, I think it would have counted.


Kinja'd!!! facw > boredalways
06/16/2020 at 10:42

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I don’t wear glasses (and don’t need them, yet , I fear reading glasses may be in my future), but my mind went to L ego as well.


Kinja'd!!! wafflesnfalafel > boredalways
06/16/2020 at 10:43

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ha - that’s what I thought too, (“all the pretty colors”)

I’d like to see it fly when they get it up and running...


Kinja'd!!! user314 > facw
06/16/2020 at 11:03

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Eh, if you apply those criteria to the history of the X-Planes , a lot of them, maybe even most of them, weren’t “proper X-Planes”. The X-7 through X-12, X-17, -36, -37, -38, -40, -43, -45, -47, - 50, -51, and - 56 were all pilotless, the X-6, -21, -25, -26, -28, -44, -53, - 55 were (or would have been) modified existing planes, and the X-10 through -12, X-20, and -27 were (or would have been) prototypes for military missiles, aircraft or spacecraft.

I don’t think t he X-38, or a possible “lifeboat” craft developed from it, were meant to be piloted per say. If one were ever used, it would be detached from the ISS, autonomously maneuvered away from the station and through re-entry, then it would descend under a parafoil and land on skis.  


Kinja'd!!! user314 > wafflesnfalafel
06/16/2020 at 11:28

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Well, the yellow and green coatings on the plane are anti-corrosion primer, and the stairs and specific panels being red makes sense as a warning , maybe even the rest of the platforms being white to spot dropped parts or spills , but why are the railings so blue?


Kinja'd!!! Shift24 > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
06/16/2020 at 11:53

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Ill be honest from the thumbnail I thought it was a lego set or something 


Kinja'd!!! RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > ttyymmnn
06/16/2020 at 16:48

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Wow, is that what it's supposed to look like? That thing is ugly...also that cockpit must be a massive pain in the ass to see anything out of at any time whatsoever...


Kinja'd!!! user314 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
06/16/2020 at 16:56

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Yeah, as it turns out, shaping an aircraft to limit the sonic boom generates some spectacularly ugly airframes:

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Kinja'd!!! ttyymmnn > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
06/16/2020 at 17:00

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Looks like it uses a periscope.


Kinja'd!!! RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > user314
06/16/2020 at 17:04

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I’d still argue that those above two are a bit prettier than the X-59, haha


Kinja'd!!! RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > ttyymmnn
06/16/2020 at 17:05

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I bet landing it is even more of a pig than the U2 with the balancing on two wheels thing...

Other thing I thought of...that would never be a high-degree camera in that ‘periscope’ and the pilot sees ahead with monitors...?


Kinja'd!!! user314 > ttyymmnn
06/16/2020 at 17:07

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Kinja'd!!! ttyymmnn > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
06/16/2020 at 17:10

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Camera is a good idea too. In fact:

The long and pointed nose-cone will obstruct all forward vision. The X-59 will use an enhanced flight vision system (EVS), consisting of a forward 4K camera with a 33° by 19° angle of view , which will compensate for the lack of forward visibility.   United Technologies subsidiary Collins Aerospace was selected to supply its Pro Line Fusion Cockpit avionics, displaying the boom on the ground, and EVS with long-wave infrared sensors. The Collins EVS-3600 multispectral imaging system, beneath the nose, is used for landing , while the NASA external vision system (XVS), in front of the cockpit, is giving a forward view.


Kinja'd!!! RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > ttyymmnn
06/16/2020 at 20:18

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So...basically if the camera system fails then, the pilot is f***ed?


Kinja'd!!! ttyymmnn > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
06/16/2020 at 20:25

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Auto land?


Kinja'd!!! RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > ttyymmnn
06/16/2020 at 20:51

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And what if the Auto land feature relies on the cameras to an extent which would be fully possible? lol

Joking aside, I imagine they’ve already thought of this and have redundancy built in, but as much as I love tech, I hate making people rely on it more :(


Kinja'd!!! gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
06/17/2020 at 22:12

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its a one off, it isn’t really designed for long term use. 


Kinja'd!!! RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
06/18/2020 at 06:40

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Oh, I know....I guess I just don’t like designs that are overcomplicated (using cameras to see) because it’s one more thing that, if it fails, puts the pilot’s life at risk. But, with the weird design of the plane, I guess they don’t really have another option.