It’s no secret that aviation is one of the biggest contributors to the planet’s carbon deposits. If left unchecked, research shows that aircrafts will have generated over 43 metric gigatons of carbon emissions by 2050. The same study notes that aviation is also one of the fastest-growing sources of carbon in the US. In order to create a more sustainable industry, local aeronautics specialists are doubling their efforts to make flight more eco-friendly. One solution they found, of course, was to switch planes’ fuel motors with electrically charged ones. For years, the venture seemed fruitless—but NASA is proving that nothing is impossible. The X-57 Maxwell is NASA’s first fully electric experimental aircraft. It was first released as a concept last year, but the government agency is conducting its first tests this month. Powered by two 400-pound lithium-ion battery packs, the X-57 Maxwell skilfully addresses the biggest hurdle faced by electric-powered aircraft: weight. Innovative propeller technology An aircraft is very heavy, which is why it takes a lot of energy to keep it in the sky. Yet, on the flip side, the majority of a plane’s weight is the machinery that powers the aircraft. Due to an increase in accessibility of “light yet reliable” high-lift motors and motor controllers, NASA has been able to solve the weight issue. Electronic manufacturers were able to calculate their PCBs’ stackup impedance to ensure enough signal layers in every power path. As a result, all the machine’s components get enough electricity between the ground and power planes, enabling each motor to work with minimal sag or droop. On each of X-57 Maxwell’s wings, six of those electric-powered motors are built-in for each propeller, theoretically allowing the plane to fly. An ultra-light aircraft NASA didn’t actually build the X-57 Maxwell’s body. The base used was a Tecnam P2006T—an aircraft built by Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam from Italy. This plane continues to be the lightest twin-engine aircraft available, which made it the best starting point for NASA’s aircraft. Furthermore, the X-57 Maxwell’s wings are at least 58% smaller than regular wings. NASA claims that not only will this reduce the overall weight, but also lower the drag. This will prevent the aircraft from expending too much power. Where is the X-57 Maxwell now? NASA recently completed the plane’s Low-Speed Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel (LSAWT) in Hampton, Virginia. They exposed the hardware to wind speeds from zero to over 90 knots for 14 hours. The results were very positive. The LSAWT test took over two weeks during October. “The X-57 project is using these tests to determine the as-built performance versus our models, so that we have high confidence in the performance of these propellers when we get to flight,” mentions Nick Borer, Advanced Concepts Group Lead for NASA Langley’s Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch. Once the X-57 Maxwell successfully takes off, it’s going to be proof that zero-emission air travel is possible. NASA just needs to perform a couple of other tests and we’ll hopefully see the aircraft in the sky in the near future. Indeed, the future is bright for sustainable aviation.
