Tecnam announced on Monday that the fuselage of a P2006T is headed to NASA. As part of the X-plane program, it will get new wings, complete with a fully distributed electric propulsion system. The modifications include 12 high-lift motors along the leading edge of the wing and two large wingtip cruise motors.
This isn’t Tecnam’s first contribution to the X-plane program. The first P2006T was delivered to NASA last year. NASA hopes that the new version of the P2006T, called the X-57 Maxwell, will demonstrate a 500 percent increase in high-speed cruise efficiency, zero in-flight carbon emissions, and be significantly quieter than the production model.
Before flight testing the first model, which might start as soon as early 2018, test pilots will fly a simulator specifically designed to the modified P2006T’s specifications. When the X-57 takes to the air, it will be NASA’s first piloted X-plane in two decades.
Learn more at NASA and Tecnam.
