Inside Nasa’s brand new futuristic aircraft which has no front window for pilots to see ahead

NASA has unveiled an experimental aircraft which makes people think pilots will be flying blind at sonic speeds.

But the US space agency’s highly trained pilots will instead be using augmented reality to navigate “crowded” airspace, Nasa said in a statement.

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The X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology plane uses a new system which replaces a pilot’s direct line of sight.

This can help pilots spot other aircrafts faster than they could through a regular windshield, according to Nasa test pilot Jim Less.

Less has been trying out the new aircraft, which has a distinct 38-foot nose designed to make it more aerodynamic at incredibly high speeds.

The goal of the X-59 is to lower the sound of the sonic boom that comes with travelling faster than the speed of sound, according to Nasa.

“If successful, the test flights could lead the way to dramatically reducing flight times with the resumption of overland supersonic flight,” Nasa explained.

The unique nose of the plane means the pilot will sit closer to the middle of the aircraft without a front-facing windshield.

The External Vision System uses two cameras, image-processing software and a computer that brings together new and existing technology to give pilots an ultra-realistic augmented reality display.

It is “almost like looking out the windows,” said Less.

The monitor is around four times the resolution of tradition high definition (HD) screens that many people are used to.

The display can switch to different channels which show different parts of the sky.

These channels can switch at eyewatering speeds – matching that of a single honeybee wing flap, or five milliseconds.

One unnamed helicopter manufacturer is currently using the new technology to add a 4K video display to a number of its models.

These helicopters are used for emergency medical services, public services, offshore energy, commercial transport, and private aviation.

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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk