At nasa.gov they have introduced a new era for the X-Plane project, an initiative called New Aviation Horizons that aims to create a new generation of aircraft that use green energy, require only half as much fuel and can be powerfully compared to current commercial aircraft.
They present it as the rebirth of an exciting time in aviation research, recalling the time when innovative prototypes were presented much more frequently than today, although they acknowledge that the first models could only be introduced in about five years. , approximately.
The initiative's first contract was already awarded to a Lockheed Martin team in February, a team that will begin designing a quieter supersonic passenger plane. That is the idea, to continue hiring companies that are capable of innovating in the sector, although the pace will be decided by the budget that they will obtain from the government in the coming years.
The concept of X-Plane is not new, they use it at NASA to talk about supersonic planes that they use for experiments, destined exclusively for research. More than 56 X-Plane concepts have already been created in recent years, such as the X-1, the first high-speed aircraft built exclusively for aviation research, or the X-15 rocket aircraft, built in the decade of the 50 and protagonist of about 200 flights (below you play a video about it). Many of them were made a long time ago, and it is this custom that they want to recover.
The focus now is not power or speed, it is fuel economy and green energy, so we will be vigilant: great things are coming in this sector.
