Boeing and NASA Shelve X-66 Sustainable Flight Demonstrator Program | Aviation International News

Sustainability and Environment

Boeing and NASA Shelve X-66 Sustainable Flight Demonstrator

Focus of research and development work will shift to ground-based testbed for thin wings

NASA X-66 wind tunnel testing — A subscale model of the X-66 aircraft with a wingspan of almost 6 feet is pictured in a wind tunnel at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia on Oct. 30, 2024. © Ryan Hill/NASA

By Hanneke Weitering • Science & Technology Editor

May 7, 2025

Boeing has shelved its plans to build and fly the X-66 experimental airplane for NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator (SFD) project, which sought to introduce new airframe technologies for the next generation of more efficient single-aisle airliners. In a statement, the U.S. space agency said it is working with Boeing to evaluate “an updated approach” to the SFD program that would focus on demonstrating long, thin wings—a key aspect of the transonic truss-braced wing architecture of the X-66.

“Boeing’s proposed focus centers on a ground-based testbed to demonstrate the potential for long, thin-wing technology,” NASA said. “Work on the X-66 flight demonstrator—which currently incorporates a more complex transonic truss-braced wing concept that uses the same thin wing technology as well as aerodynamic, structural braces—would pause for later consideration based on the thin-wing testbed results and further truss-braced configuration studies.”

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