MD-90 arrives at Boeing site for X-66A modification

Boeing [NYSE:BA] has ferried an MD-90 airplane to the site where it will be modified to test the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration as part of NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project. 

Boeing’s MD-90 aircraft flies from Victorville California to Palmdale, California on August 15, 2023. This aircraft will be NASA’s future Sustainable Flight Demonstrator. Modifications to the aircraft will include changes to the fuselage and most notably the use of a transonic truss-braced wing.

As Boeing, NASA and community leaders gathered at the company’s facility today to recognize the milestone in development of the experimental X-66A aircraft, Boeing released photos of the jet’s journey from Victorville, Calif., to Palmdale.The X-66A is NASA’s first experimental plane focused on helping the U.S. achieve its goal of net-zero aviation greenhouse gas emissions. Modification will begin soon and ground and flight testing is expected to begin in 2028.

Boeing Test & Evaluation, BT&E, Flight Test, X-66A, NASA, Sustainable Flight Demonstrator, Transonic Truss-Braced Wing, MD-90, Palmdale,

With ultra thin wings braced by struts with larger spans and higher-aspect ratios, the TTBW design and other expected technological advances could lead to reductions in fuel use and emissions by up to 30%.

Boeing and NASA have collaborated for more than a decade on the concept through the Subsonic Ultra Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Program.