The X-59 QueSST is a low-noise, supersonic aviation tester developed by NASA. But the cockpit is a little unique. A large 4K screen was placed in the place of the front window where it was supposed to be. The reason is because of the quirky design of the airplane.
The X-59 was developed by Lockheed Martin with a budget of $247 million. Its purpose is to fly fast while preventing the sonic boom from occurring. At least it doesn’t make any louder noise than closing a car door on the ground. To do this, of course, it’s a good idea to keep it as streamlined as possible. This means that the shape of the cockpit protruding like a jet fighter is difficult. Rather, a design with a large window in front of the pilot is unacceptable.
For this reason, the cockpit has been moved to the top of the wing tip, which has a small, unique shape. If you look directly outside from here, you can only see the rider. This is why the display is arranged. There are still several displays on the aircraft, but the 4K monitor in this plane acts as part of a system called the eXternal Visibility System (XVS), compared to the purpose of location indication. Two externally located cameras are combined and combined with the terrain data set in advance. It’s not real, but the pilot can get used to it quickly because the time spent in the simulator is long. Of course, if you really want to see the real world, you can use the window.
Lockheed Martin and NASA are building the plane, but some parts are still in design. The first flight is scheduled for 2021, and the aircraft, commonly referred to as the X-plane, has been developed over 30 years.