Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Quiet supersonic X-59 jet soars in first test flight

NASA's X-59 supersonic-but-quiet jet soared over the Southern California desert on Tuesday in the first test flight of an experimental aircraft designed to break the sound barrier with little noise, paving the way for faster commercial air travel.

Posted by LampLighter at 12:18 AM | 11 COMMENTS | permalink

Comments

More from the article ...

... After a steep climb over sod fields just east of the runway, the plane was seen banking to the north on a trajectory toward Edwards Air Force Base, where it landed safely about an hour later near NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center. It was accompanied by a NASA chase plane.

The plane's unique shape is designed to greatly reduce the explosive-like sonic boom normally produced when an aircraft breaks the sound barrier, lowering the volume to a muffled "sonic thump" no louder than slamming a car door.

Perfection of such low-decibel flight technology is aimed at overcoming one of the primary obstacles to supersonic commercial flight, long restricted over populated areas on land due to noise concerns, according to Lockheed. ...


#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-10-29 12:19 AM

@#1 ... Perfection of such low-decibel flight technology ...

Let me know when they reduce the noise of the jet engines.


#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-10-29 12:20 AM

New jet engines are already a lot quieter. People love the A320neo. "The Airbus A320neo is significantly quieter than its predecessor, the A320ceo, with a noise footprint at take-off that is half as loud, measuring 85 decibels." --Wikipedia

#3 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-10-29 12:24 AM

Let me know when they reduce the noise of the jet engines.

I heard a Concorde take off from YYZ one time and it was definitely a sonic event.

#4 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-10-29 12:30 AM

@#3 ... New jet engines are already a lot quieter. ...

While I'd hope that to be the case, I still hear the jets going to and from area airports.

They have not seemed to have gotten any quieter in recent years.

Maybe the planes are still using the old engines?

I dunno.

But what I do know is the noise I hear.

#5 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-10-29 12:41 AM

"Maybe the planes are still using the old engines?"

Yeah, jet engines cost like $10M so they don't replace them often.

#6 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-10-29 12:49 AM

Concorde

I was near JFK when one took off, and it took me a moment to figure out what was making all that noise. Never expected a plane that small would be that loud.

Concorde gives "our civilization peaked in the late 20th century" vibes.

#7 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-10-29 12:52 AM

They have not seemed to have gotten any quieter in recent years.

Possibly relative to power, but a lot are much more powerful.

I don't have any close airports so most airliners going overhead are at cruising altitudes around 35,000 feet.

I can't hear a 737 or a 320 go over when I am inside my house, but I can definitely hear the big high bypass turbofans on a 777 or a 787.

#8 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-10-29 12:58 AM

Never expected a plane that small would be that loud.

The afterburners had a lot to do with it. :-)

#9 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-10-29 12:59 AM

@#8 ... I don't have any close airports ...

Nor do I (at least, major airports).

I'm in southwestern Connecticut, and the FAA changed the flight patterns a few years ago of the NYC airports to overfly this area instead of the ocean.

Come to think of it, was that the first Trump admin maybe getting back at a state that did not vote for him?



#10 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-10-29 02:01 AM

Nor do I (at least, major airports).

I have YYC (Calgary) about 90 miles away, and that's about it.

#11 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-10-29 02:14 AM

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