Well, howdy there, Internet people, it's Bell again.

So today, we're going to talk about the X-59, Trump cuts and fences.

The U.S. is gearing up to test out the X-59. They've got it doing taxi tests right now.

It's rolling around the runways and just making sure that everything is working.

That means pretty soon the sci-fi-looking plane will be airborne.

Once it gets airborne, it'll be flying over populated areas

to basically see if the people on the ground can hear it when it goes supersonic and breaks the sound

barrier. If all goes according to plan, the sound will be pretty minor. A quiet supersonic

plane sounds like something that has massive military implications. And sure, the experimental

aircraft is currently being tested at Plant 42, which is associated with skunk works.

And the facility did testing on some planes you might have heard of, like the B-2.

But this isn't the usual secret military aircraft.

The story starts about half a century ago. Back in April of

1973, the federal government banned civilian supersonic flight because of concerns about sonic

booms causing issues or property damage on the ground. As the mission integration manager on the

X-59 project said, quote,

it's a rule that many people today aren't aware of, yet it's at the heart of what our

quest mission with its quiet supersonic X-59 airplane is all about. Going on to say, quote, we're definitely ready to write a new chapter in the history of

supersonic flight, making air travel over land twice as fast, but in a way that is safe,

sustainable, and so much quieter than before.

The thing looks really cool.

It doesn't even have a windscreen.

...