The Boeing X-66A Is A Transonic Truss Wing Aircraft For NASA

 

In 2016, Boeing and NASA showed off some future aircraft concepts that are expected to reduce pollution and fuel consumption. Among the concepts shown is a passenger plane that has thin wings equipped with trusses. This concept was selected by NASA and the United States Air Force (USAF) to be the next experimental aircraft.

The official name to be used is the Boeing X-66A with a transonic truss wing design. This design is believed to reduce fuel consumption by up to 30% on narrow-body aircraft. This aircraft was developed under the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project which aims to reduce the impact of pollution by passenger jet aircraft. It became another plane under the X Plane program that has existed since the 1940s.

Small passenger aircraft designs were chosen because the majority of commercial aircraft are of this type such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. Besides the use of thinner wings, other ways that can be used to reduce fuel consumption are flying wing aircraft and the use of hydrogen fuel.