Sneak peek at NASA planes that could transform air travel by the 2030s

Snazzy new liveries have been revealed for two of NASA's hottest aircraft projects. These upcoming planes want to be the next generation of sustainable flight - and also to look good when doing it. First there's the X-66A, which NASA has been cooking up along with Boeing as part of its Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project. The US aerospace behemoths want to build, test and fly an emission-reducing, single-aisle aircraft before the decade is out. The X-66A is the full-scale demonstrator on which they'll be doing all that. "It's our goal that NASA's partnership with Boeing to produce and test a full-scale demonstrator will help lead to future commercial airliners that are more fuel efficient, with benefits to the environment, the commercial aviation industry, and to passengers worldwide, " said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in January. "If we are successful, we may see these technologies in planes that the public takes to the skies in the 2030s." The design that NASA and Boeing are working on could reduce fuel consumption and emissions by up to 30 percent compared with today's most efficient aircraft, according to the agency. It's called the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing concept, which relies on elongated, thin wings stabilised by diagonal struts that connect the wings to the aircraft. The design's shape creates less drag, which means burning less fuel. The new livery was unveiled at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and features a white body with a blue, orange and red striped tail. "This is an experimental aircraft," Bob Pearce, NASA associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, said in January. "This is not a commercial development of an aircraft that passengers are going to fly in today. And the reason we need to do this is because this is high-risk technology. We're trying to validate technology."<br/>