
Specifications
Year: 2013
Status: Active, Limited Service
Manufacturer(s): Lockheed Martin - USA
Production: 2
Capabilities: X-Plane; Unmanned;
Status: Active, Limited Service
Manufacturer(s): Lockheed Martin - USA
Production: 2
Capabilities: X-Plane; Unmanned;
Crew: 0
Width: 27.89 ft (8.5 m)
Weight (Empty): 485 lb (220 kg)
Weight (MTOW): 485 lb (220 kg)
Width: 27.89 ft (8.5 m)
Weight (Empty): 485 lb (220 kg)
Weight (MTOW): 485 lb (220 kg)
Power: 2 x JetCat P400 turbojet engines developing 90lb of thrust each.
Speed: 172 mph (277 kph; 150 kts)
Operators: United States
The X-56A is designed as a "flying wing" blended body air vehicle with vertical surfaces added at the wingtips. The fuselage houses the twin-engine arrangement, avionics and fuel stores while the undercarriage is of a conventional wheeled tricycle arrangement. Power is served through 2 x JetCat P400 turbojet engines mounted along the top rear of the fuselage. Lockheed has produced a pair of X-56A fuselages with a modular wing system to make use two different wing types - one rigid and another flexible - both featuring active flutter suppression sensors and controls. For early testing, a basic rigid wing is being used to see verify the validity of the rigid-wing arrangement. The flexible wings will feature glass-fiber construction an active flutter controlling while the finalized rigid wings (with their own anti-flutter controls) will be tested in early 2014.
The project hopes to provide clues in the containment of the violent effects inherent in flutter during flight, encouraging the growth of more fuel efficient, longer-range aircraft for both civil and military markets. The X-56A program is expected to cover some five years of research in which Lockheed will manage twenty flights prior to handoff to NASA personnel for formal flexible wing research.
Two X-56 vehicles were built for the flight-testing program. The first has been named "Fido" and the Second "Buckeye".
Program Updates
July 2013 - A first-flight involving the X-56A was recorded.
September 2015 - The aircraft completed its latest round of flight testing during September of 2015.
November 2015 - The first X-56A flyer crashed on take-off after having accomplished a total of sixteen flights. This was the first flutter suppression test flight.
January 2017 - The flooding of the lakebed at Edwards AFB has meant a postponement of future (program expansion) flights involving the X-56A. Eight flights are currently scheduled.
October 2017 - The X-56A is set to resume flight testing in mid-November. Because of earlier issues that led to the first aircraft crashing during take-off, the design will be revised in the second prototype.
October 2018 - The X-56A project has succeeded in demonstrating active suppression of flutter through its flexible wing design.
Armament
None.
Variants / Models
• X-56A - Base Series Designation
• "Fido" - First prototype nickname
• "Buckeye" - Second prototype nickname