NASA is still testing wild new wing technologies to improve energy efficiency in flight. The agency announced yesterday that it is conducting research on a unique wing design that uses 14 electric motors. The experimental aircraft it’s designing is called X-57, otherwise known as “Maxwell.”
The X-57 is NASA’s first X-plane in a decade, and the plan is to develop technologies that improve fuel use and emissions and reduce noise, while also potentially paving the way to faster and more efficient small aircraft. “With the return of piloted X-planes to NASA’s research capabilities – which is a key part of our 10-year-long New Aviation Horizons initiative – the general aviation-sized X-57 will take the first step in opening a new era of aviation,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.
via The Verge
