Wind Over Its Wing: NASA’s X-66 Model Tests Airflow
In the NASA Langley Research Center’s 14- by 22-foot subsonic wind tunnel, a 2.75% scaled model of NASA’s experimental X-66 aircraft stood poised to undergo airflow testing, signifying a crucial step in the development of this revolutionary advanced air mobility concept.
This advanced air mobility vehicle is a hybrid-electric, VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft designed to take off and land vertically like a helicopter before transitioning to wing-borne flight like an airplane. Its unique design aims to enable a quieter, more efficient, and sustainable form of urban air transportation.
“We’re looking at propulsive efficiency and how the aircraft behaves in terms of stability and control while in various flight modes,” said Tolga Ozimek, research aerospace engineer at Langley. “The beauty of this model is that we can switch between different high-lift configurations, which will help us optimize the aircraft’s performance for multiple flight phases.”
The X-66 model, meticulously crafted by the team at AMA, Inc., is equipped with 64 pressure sensors embedded in its surfaces and 16 force and moment sensors integrated with the model’s balance system. These sensors, along with tufts positioned along the model’s surfaces, will provide a comprehensive picture of the airflow over the aircraft.
“With the pressure and force data, we can understand how much lift, drag, and pitching moment the aircraft generates, which are very important for understanding and predicting the aircraft’s flight characteristics,” explained Ozimek. “Meanwhile, the flow visualization tufts will help us visualize airflow patterns, which will help us understand if the flow is separating or remaining attached to the aircraft’s surfaces.”
The subsonic wind tunnel was chosen for the initial round of tests due to its ability to simulate flight conditions more accurately than conventional wind tunnels. The team plans to conduct additional testing in NASA’s National Transonic Facility, enabling them to simulate transonic conditions and explore the aircraft’s performance at near-transonic speeds.
“The data we collect from these wind tunnel tests will be crucial for refining the design of the X-66 and ensuring it meets our performance goals. It will also help us understand the flow physics associated with this novel aircraft, which will advance the state-of-the-art in VTOL aircraft design,” said Ozimek.
The X-66 program is a collaboration between NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program (AAVP) and the Transformative Vertical Flight (TVF) initiative. The program aims to demonstrate the feasibility of hybrid-electric propulsion and innovative aircraft configurations for future urban air mobility applications.
Wind Over Its Wing: NASA’s X-66 Model Tests Airflow
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