NASA Aeronautics is cleared for takeoff through 2022, and we invite you and your family, friends, and classmates to join us and share in exciting aeronautical events happening this year and beyond using the new Flight Log Experience.
These milestones include first flights of two new X-planes: the X-57 Maxwell and X-59 aircraft.
The X-57 Maxwell is NASA’s first all-electric airplane. It is a general aviation-size aircraft that is powered by electrically driven motors – demonstrating new electric aviation technology. The aircraft will help further the introduction of more sustainable aviation technology to our skies.
The X-59 is a single-seat jet designed to create a quieter sonic “thump” at supersonic speeds instead of a louder sonic boom. As part of the Quesst mission, it will perform test flights to gauge the public’s reaction to the lower sound level with the hope of enabling a new era of commercial supersonic travel.
Via the Flight Log, you can be on board the X-57 and X-59 aircraft when they each make their very first flights this year, along with the support vehicles and chase airplanes for them, and even other aircraft working on missions such as Advanced Air Mobility.
When you sign up for a flight, your name will be digitized and downloaded onto a storage device that will be carried personally by the pilot on that flight.
You’ll also receive a printable boarding pass with your name on it, and the flight will be entered into your logbook just like the way real pilots keep track of their flights. You can even earn virtual mission patches to be downloaded and displayed proudly.
“The Flight Log Experience is a great way for students, educators, and the public to ride along with NASA on our many flights, and to learn more about what we do and about flight in general,” said April Lanotte, NASA Aeronautics’ lead for STEM integration.
Though you won’t be climbing aboard in person, the Flight Log does provide more ways to learn about the research NASA Aeronautics is conducting.
Activities related to aviation and our aeronautical research will be available to participants, including STEM educators and their students. When you complete one of the activities, you earn an endorsement – a stamp in your logbook displaying the achievement – just as pilots earn new ratings and certifications.
Additionally, in the future, your name could be included on the flights of many different kinds of aircraft ranging from drones to research aircraft and even experimental aircraft other than the X-57 and X-59.
“Pilots in training keep flight logs to document their personal flight history. You can also keep track of your own flight story with NASA Aeronautics – one that we hope will last for years to come,” said Lanotte.
With these flights slated for the near future, don’t wait to claim your seat. Visit this page for details on how to get your boarding pass, and let’s fly!
Special Note for Educators: The Flight Log Experience can also be used by entire classrooms, used by educators to teach about aviation, and inspire students to consider careers in the transforming world of aeronautics.
