Boeing has chosen an old McDonnell-Douglas airliner as the test bed for the Transonic Truss Braced Wing that it hopes will eventually lift a new-generation passenger aircraft toward sustainability. NASA has contracted Boeing to build a Sustainable Flight Demonstrator and key to the design is a set of long, thin wings that are braced by large trusses that also work as lifting surfaces. It will be known as the X-66A, and the actual prototype is expected to fly in 2028, but in the meantime the old rear-engined descendent of the DC-9 will test the wing concept. It was ferried from Victorville to Boeing's Palmdale, California, facility on Aug. 17.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/md-90-testbed-for-trussed-wing-demonstrator-project