A project announced early last year by Boeing and NASA for a demonstration plane with long thin wings supported by angled trusses has turned, at least for now, into a project to develop long thin wings.
The projected plane, labeled X-66, was to be created by grafting new wing structures onto a retired MD-90 airliner for testing, with test flights to take place by 2028. The project was initiated by NASA, which was to pay about 1/3 of the $1.15 billion estimated cost.
Boeing has apparently now decided that the long thin wing concept has more development potential in a shorter time-frame than the more complex idea of trusses to support the wings. It’s unclear how that will affect the funding of the ongoing project.
A NASA statement says that “NASA and Boeing are currently evaluating an updated approach to the agency’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project that would focus on demonstrating thin-wing technology with broad applications for multiple aircraft configurations.”
Boeing had already started on the first phase of modifying the MD-9o at a field in Palmdale, California; the first phase, removing the existing wings, will be finished this summer before work stops.
