Boeing's NASA-backed X-66A Sustainable Flight Demonstrator, a heavily modified McDonnell Douglas MD-90, configured with a new transonic truss-braced wing design is Boeing's first full-scale commercial demonstrator since the 367-80 — the forerunner to the KC-135 and 707. That aircraft advanced the now-familiar swept wing podded engine that has defined commercial aviation for the last seven decades. The X-66A is slated to fly in 2028, a year after JetZero's demonstrator.

Boeing shelves plans to fly NASA X-66 flight demonstrator

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Boeing will “pause” development of its X-66 Sustainable Flight Demonstrator this summer, shelving what was once considered its most promising technology development effort for advancing aerodynamic efficiency, according to an internal memo from the company’s chief technology officer, Todd Citron.

The company said it will redeploy some of the engineers on the program to the 777X and 737 Max development programs, which are an immediate priority for Boeing as it seeks to first meet its commitments to existing customers. Last June, The Air Current reported that Boeing had begun moving engineers away from the demonstrator’s development to support those delayed programs.

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Jon Ostrower
Jon Ostrower is Editor-in-chief of The Air Current, where he leads coverage of the global aerospace and aviation industries. Prior to launching TAC in June 2018, Mr. Ostrower served as Aviation Editor for CNN Worldwide, guiding the network’s global coverage of the business and operations of aviation. Mr. Ostrower joined CNN in 2016 following four and a half years at the Wall Street Journal. Based first in Chicago and then in Washington, D.C., he covered Boeing, aviation safety, and the business of global aerospace. Before that, Mr. Ostrower was editor of FlightBlogger for Flightglobal and Flight International Magazine covering the development of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other new aircraft programs from 2007 to 2012. He is also an instructor at the University of Southern California in the Viterbi School of Engineering's Aviation Safety and Security program. Mr. Ostrower, a Boston native, graduated from The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs with a bachelor’s degree in Political Communication. He is based in Seattle.
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