First flight for Phantom Eye

The Phantom Eye flew for 28 minutes and reached an altitude of 4,080ft at a cruising speed of 62 knots during the June 1, 2012 flight at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.

During the landing, the gear broke when it dug into the lakebed. The plane is designed to stay aloft for up to four days, at altitudes of up to 65,000ft, providing “persistent monitoring over large areas.” Boeing describes the liquid-hydrogen propulsion system as environmentally responsible, with the only byproduct being water.

This aircraft is the newest in a series of Boeing-funded rapid prototyping programs including Phantom Ray, Echo Ranger, ScanEagle Compressed Carriage, and an associated Common Open Mission Management Command and Control.