NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in the Antelope Valley has taken delivery of its first all-electric experimental aircraft. The X-57 Maxwell was delivered last week by Empirical Systems Aerospace in San Luis Obispo. The goal of the program is to advance the design and airworthiness of distributed electric propulsion technology for general aviation aircraft. X-57 Project Manager Tom Rigney said that taking delivery of the plane is the beginning of a new phase in the electric X-plane project. “With the aircraft in our possession, the X-57 team will soon conduct extensive ground testing of the integrated electric propulsion system to ensure the aircraft is airworthy,” Rigney said in a statement. “We plan to rapidly share valuable lessons learned along the way as we progress toward flight testing, helping to inform the growing electric aircraft market.” NASA will share the aircraft’s electric-propulsion-focused design and airworthiness process with regulators and the aerospace industry, which will advance certification approaches for aircraft utilizing distributed electric propulsion.
Experimental Electric Plane Delivered to Antelope Valley
