NASA Test Pilot Prepares X-59 for Engine Runs

NASA test pilot Jim “Clue” Less sits inside the cockpit of the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft ahead of early morning engine runs at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Thursday, March 12, 2026. The X-59 is part of NASA's Quesst mission, which seeks to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight and gather data that could help define acceptable sound for commercial supersonic travel over land.