Overview
- NASA test pilot Jim “Clue” Less will fly the X‑59, with Nils Larson observing from a NASA F/A‑18 chase plane.
- The sortie will verify performance at about 230 mph at 12,000 feet before stepping to roughly 260 mph at 20,000 feet.
- Takeoff and landing are planned at Edwards Air Force Base near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.
- Preflight work included a March 12 engine run and extensive post‑first‑flight inspections that removed and reinstalled the engine, lower empennage, seat, and more than 70 panels.
- This Phase 1 campaign will incrementally expand the flight envelope toward about 925 mph (Mach 1.4) at 55,000 feet before acoustic validation flights and later community overflights.