Search Results for: skunk works

Pattern Wars: Part Deux Great article, Paul. You’ve hit the nail on the head with NORDOs and common-sense safety. If someone can splurge on an iPad for navigation, it’s safe to assume they can also afford a transceiver for communication. Now, on straight-ins—they’re not going away anytime soon. It’s important then, for everyone, especially at […]

NASA has announced that the final installation of the tail assembly on its X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) research aircraft is complete. The work took place at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, where the aircraft returned a year ago following a series of tests in Fort Worth, Texas. The X-59 is expected to […]

NASA announced this week that the engine for its X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) research aircraft has been installed. Installation of the engine, a F414-GE-100 from General Electric Aviation, was completed at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. The X-59, which was designed to “reduce the sound of sonic booms … to a […]

NASA’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) research aircraft has returned to Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, following the completion of a series of ground tests in Fort Worth, Texas. While at the Texas facility, structural and fuel calibration tests were completed on the aircraft in preparation for final integration and taxi testing back […]

NASA and Lockheed Martin have removed the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) research aircraft from its jig system and are moving toward final assembly, according to a recent announcement from NASA. Part of the agency’s low-boom flight demonstration mission, the goal of the X-59 QueSST design is to reduce “the loudness of a sonic boom […]

NASA has announced that its X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft has been cleared for final assembly and systems integration, a move the agency called the “last programmatic hurdle” for QueSST prior to flight signoff. Approval for final assembly of the X-59 was given at a Key Decision Point-D (KDP-D) management review last week. Assembly […]

Cirrus’ sales success all but tanked the idea of a high-performance single with retractable gear. But at Aero on Wednesday, Diamond Aircraft revived the idea in announcing that the long-stalled DA-50 is coming back, this time as a diesel-power retractable with at least five seats. Diamond CEO Liquin Zhang says certification is planned for the […]

More than 4,500 people attended Women in Aviation International’s (WAI) 30th Annual International Women in Aviation Conference last week. Southwest Airlines captain and former F/A-18 Hornet pilot Tammi Jo Shults, SpaceX CEO Gwynne Shotwell and tactical mission lead on the Mars Curiosity Rover at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Nagin Cox were among the conference’s keynote […]

Wind tunnel testing of NASA’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft is breaking new ground, according to NASA aeronautics researcher Corey Diebler. The X-59 QueSST is part of NASA’s Low-Boom Flight Demonstration mission and is one of the first aircraft specifically shaped to prevent shockwaves from creating sonic booms when it exceeds the speed of […]

Air-racer, record-setter and test pilot Darryl Greenamyer died last week at the age of 82. He started his flying career with the Air Force Reserve. After leaving the Air Force, Greenamyer became an SR-71 test pilot for Lockheed’s—now Lockheed Martin—Skunk Works. Greenamyer competed in the Reno Air Races for nearly 40 years, winning 11 championships […]