Over the course of 2015, NASA researchers performed ground testing of the 31-foot-span, carbon composite wing section with 18 electric motors mounted on a specially modified truck. The truck experiment was a precursor to the development of the X-57.
Over the next year or so, a team led by NASA engineer Sean Clarke will systematically retrofit the Tecnam P2006T until it becomes the X-57. They’ll start by replacing the pistons and mechanics that currently control the wing’s propellers and flaps with LEAPTech.
“We need to evaluate how this compares to the original engines,” says Clarke. He expects they’ll be doing flight tests with that configuration by next fall. “After that, we’ll take those baseline wings off the aircraft and put the experimental wing back on,” he says.
The X-57 is part of NASA’s New Aviation Horizons initiative, which will also produce up to five large-scale aircraft including a supersonic jet which also plans on making use of composites.
