For nearly 11 years, test pilot Mike Lippert pushed high-performance aircraft to maximum performance. But one ultimate career milestone kept eluding him. He had never flown an X-plane. And he ultimately got an opportunity to fly one on October 21.
Soaring high above California’s Mojave Desert, Lippert finally realized his lifelong ambition by taking control of NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft for the first time.
The flight is a key triumph for both the pilot and NASA’s mission to reshape the future of commercial air travel.
Lippert launched from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. And stayed airborne for exactly one hour.
During the flight, the sleek research jet reached a top speed of Mach 1.4 while cruising at 55,000 feet.
“After completing our high-altitude test points, there was a brief period where we descended and decelerated, where I was able to look outside and recognize that I was flying supersonic in an X-plane over the high deserts of the Mojave,” Lippert recalled. “It was a special moment for sure.”
While the X-59 has taken to the skies before, getting Lippert ready for his maiden flight required months of preparation.
He didn’t do it alone. Working closely alongside fellow NASA test pilots Nils Larson and Jim “Clue” Less, Lippert spent countless hours in ground simulators mapping out every potential variable. In August, he performed his first engine run inside the cockpit, honing communication routines with the mission control team.
That meticulous ground prep paid off. Lippert smoothly executed complex maneuvers to test the jet’s handling and system integrity.
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