STEM ACTIVITY:

Design Your Own X-Plane

www.nasa.gov

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
2 | DESIGN YOUR OWN X-PLANE STUDENT GUIDE

DESIGN YOUR OWN X-PLANE

In this activity, learn what an X-plane is and how NASA uses X-planes for research. Then roll the dice to find out what 

features you will need to include on your own X-plane.

What is an X-Plane?

Activity Directions

For more than 70 years, NASA has been designing and building 

experimental planes, better known as X-planes, to test cutting 

edge ideas in flight. These planes have helped test innovations 

that make aircraft fly faster, more efficiently, and safer.

When NASA develops an X-plane, it is flown by test pilots to 

collect data on the aircraft features being evaluated. Because 

many of the designs are very different from standard planes, 

flying them can be difficult. That is why specially trained pilots 

are the ones who fly them.

X-planes are not sold commercially, but the technologies 

developed are made available to aircraft manufacturers to 

improve their own aircraft. Many of the features seen on aircraft 

today were initially developed and tested on some of NASA’s 

X-planes. Do you want to know more about X-planes? Take a 

look at our “History of X Planes” video.

Now it is time for you to design your own X-plane! But just like NASA engineers, you will need directions on what the 

purpose of your plane is and how you should go about designing it. The features of your aircraft will be decided by 

rolling a six-sided die.

On pages 3-9, you will see the choices for each of the seven characteristics of your plane. For each feature, roll the die 

to see which option your X-plane will have. The choices listed also have brief descriptions. You can always research 

these choices more extensively on your own.

After you roll the die for a characteristic, circle the option you have chosen on the worksheet so that you have a record 

of what you will need to create. Once you have “chosen” all the characteristics, it is time to create a drawing of your 

X-plane. You can label parts of your drawing to explain what you have drawn or how it affects the aircraft.

After you complete the drawing, decorate your plane! Make it colorful or choose a color scheme that would help it 

achieve its purpose. For example, if you want to create an aircraft that is stealthy, you probably do not want a bright, 

colorful paint scheme!

Figure 1. Artist concept of the X-59 flying over land. 

Credit: NASA
DESIGN YOUR OWN X-PLANE STUDENT GUIDE | 3 

Extension Ideas

• Label and describe each part of your aircraft

• Develop an ad or commercial for your aircraft. How is it useful? What parts of your aircraft make it unique? Why 

might someone want to purchase your aircraft?

• Draw what your X-plane looks like on the ground and what it looks like while flying in the air.

• Create a cross-sectional drawing of your X-plane. This involves creating three drawings of your plane. One shows 

a view of it from the side, one from the top, and one from the front. Take a look at the “NASA’s BEST Engineering 

Drawing Tutorial” if you need help learning more about making a cross-sectional or engineering drawing: https://

www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=41-Z06qQmTU.

• Using cardboard and other recyclable material, create a model of your X-plane.

• Create your aircraft on a CAD or computer-aided design tool. Perhaps you could 3D print your design!

• Create a poster highlighting your X-plane. It can show the plane and explain what it does. The purpose of the 

poster is to get people excited about the X-plane.

This activity was created in collaboration with Gus Posey and Valerie Blome of Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space 

Museum in Denver, CO.
4 | DESIGN YOUR OWN X-PLANE STUDENT GUIDE

PLANE’S PURPOSE

Every X-plane is built for a specific purpose. Roll the die to see your plane’s main purpose.

1

HIGH SPEED

3

QUIET

5

FLIES AT HIGH ALTITUDES

2

FUEL EFFICIENT

4

TRAVELS LONG DISTANCES

6

STEALTH

NASA’s X-15 was the fastest piloted plane ever 

flown, traveling at Mach 6.7 (or 6.7 times as fast 

as sound).

NASA designed the X-59 to fly faster than 

sound while being much quieter than previous 

supersonic aircraft.

NASA has used its WB-57 High Altitude Research 

Aircraft to fly missions at very high altitudes (well over 

60,000 feet) to collect data about the atmosphere. 

The X-57 is designed to fly using only battery power, 

making it a very fuel-efficient plane.

NASA’s Proteus aircraft is used for scientific data 

collection missions. It can fly for over 18 hours at a 

time.

The US Air Force’s F-117 uses a combination of color 

and design to make it very difficult to detect in the air.

Photo Credits: Photos 1-5 are from NASA. Photo 6 is from US Air Force.
DESIGN YOUR OWN X-PLANE STUDENT GUIDE | 5 

NUMBER OF PASSENGERS

Roll the die to see how many people can be on your plane at one time.

1 or 2

0 people onboard (Uninhabited)

3 or 4

1 person onboard (just the pilot)

5 or 6

2 or more people onboard (the pilot and others)

An uninhabited plane has no people onboard. It is either remotely flown or is autonomous, meaning that a 

computer is programmed to control all aspect of its flight.

Since X-planes are built to test concepts of flight, many of them only require a pilot onboard.

Planes like the ones NASA uses for aerial data collection over Arctic regions require a pilot and crew to 

complete the mission.

Photo Credits: All Photos on this page are from NASA.
6 | DESIGN YOUR OWN X-PLANE STUDENT GUIDE

PROPULSION SYSTEM

Roll the die to see what type of propulsion system your plane will use.

1

PROPELLER ON THE NOSE

3

REAR-MOUNTED PROPELLERS

5

JETS MOUNTED ON THE WINGS

2

WING MOUNTED PROPELLERS

4

JETS MOUNTED ON THE FUSELAGE

6

YOUR CHOICE!

A propeller on the nose of the aircraft creates thrust 

that moves the plane forward. As it moves, air flows 

over the wing, creating lift.

When the propeller is mounted near the back of a 

plane, it is called a pusher configuration. This provides 

smoother airflow over the wings.

Jet engines mounted on the wings provide a plane 

with lots of speed but can make it less maneuverable 

than aircraft with other types of propulsion systems.

Photo Credits: Photos 1-4 are from NASA. Photo 5 is from US Air Force.

Propellers mounted on the wings push air directly 

over the wing, producing lift for the plane.

Mounting jet engines on the fuselage allow the plane 

to fly very fast while also being maneuverable.

You can use any of the propulsion system choices 

provided or come up with your own idea for a 

propulsion system. It could be something you have 

seen before or an original idea.

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DESIGN YOUR OWN X-PLANE STUDENT GUIDE | 7 

WING TYPE

Roll the die to see what type of wing your aircraft will have.

1

SWEPT BACK WINGS

3

FORWARD SWEPT WINGS

5

TRUSS BRACED WING

2

RECTANGULAR WINGS

4

DELTA WINGS

6

NO WINGS

Swept back wings increase the stability of the plane. 

They also reduce turbulence when flying at different 

speeds and can be made thin to reduce friction from 

air flow over the wings.

Forward swept wings are quite efficient at low speeds. 

They also allow the plane to achieve high angles of 

attack, meaning they can climb quickly without stalling. 

Adding trusses to the wings helps support the wings, 

allowing them to be longer than conventional wings. 

This helps reduce drag, meaning that the plane burns 

less fuel while flying.

Photo Credits: All Photos on this page are from NASA.

Rectangular wings are relatively inexpensive to make 

and are easy to install. They help reduce stalling of 

the plane.

Delta wings provide a large wing area which reduces 

the minimum speed of the plane while also making it 

stable at high speeds.

Having no wings can be achieved in different ways 

– you can use rotors like the picture above or you 

can shape the fuselage so it acts like one big wing, 

providing the aircraft with lift.
8 | DESIGN YOUR OWN X-PLANE STUDENT GUIDE

EMPENNAGE (TAIL SECTION)

Roll the die to see what type of empennage your aircraft will have.

1

CONVENTIONAL (Low Horizontal Stabilizer)

3

TWIN TAIL

5

SINGLE VERTICAL TAIL (No Horizontal Stabilizer)

2

T-TAIL (High Horizontal Stabilizer)

6

YOUR CHOICE!

4

NO TAIL

The conventional tail is the easiest to design and 

provides good overall control of the plane.

Planes with two separate tail sections can more 

effectively affect the flight of the aircraft than a single 

tail section.

Having no vertical stabilizer reduces drag on the 

aircraft, but it provides less control during flight.

Photo Credits: All Photos on this page are from NASA.

Having the vertical stabilizer high on the tail means 

it is not affected as much by the flow of air from the 

propulsion system.

What type of tail section would you design? Use a 

design you see already, or create a completely new 

idea for your tail section. Maybe look at birds or flying 

insects for inspiration.

A tailless aircraft has less drag than an aircraft with 

a tail. It can also be much harder to detect in flight 

(stealthy).

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DESIGN YOUR OWN X-PLANE STUDENT GUIDE | 9 

UNDERCARRIAGE (LANDING GEAR)

Roll the die to see what type of undercarriage your aircraft will have.

1

PONTOONS

3

TRICYCLE

5

TANDEM

2

SKIS

4

TAIL DRAGGER

6

YOUR CHOICE!

Planes with pontoons can land on and take off from 

the water. There are often wheels attached to the 

pontoons so the plane can land on a regular landbased runway as well.

Wheels that form a triangle with one wheel in front and 

either one or two wheels on each side provide stability 

on the ground.

Also known as bicycle landing gear, this type of 

landing gear lines up main landing gear and tail gear 

along the airplane’s axis, front to back. For a sail plane 

or some military aircraft, they allow a plane to produce 

less drag when the wheels are down, or deployed.

Photo Credits: Photo 1 is from Getty Images (by: wyldephyre). Photo 2 is from ARCUS. Photo 3 and 4 are from 

NASA, Photo 5 is from US Air Force.

When planes need to land on snow or ice, skis can 

be used as landing gear. As seen in the photo above, 

the skis often have wheels attached to them.

A tail dragger is an airplane that lands and taxis on a 

tail wheel or tail skid with its nose off the ground. 

You can use any of the undercarriage choices 

provided. Or you can come up with your own idea 

for an undercarriage. It could be something you have 

seen before or an original idea.

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10 | DESIGN YOUR OWN X-PLANE STUDENT GUIDE

IS THE UNDERCARRIAGE RETRACTABLE?

Roll the die to see what type of undercarriage your aircraft will have.

1, 2, or 3

No, the undercarriage is not retractable.

4, 5 or 6

Yes, the undercarriage is retractable.

For some planes, like NASA’s X-48, the landing gear does not retract. Instead, in remains in place for the 

duration the flight.

For many planes, the landing gear retracts into the fuselage and/or wings of the aircraft while in flight. This 

reduces the drag of the aircraft because air can flow more smoothly across the surface if the plane.

Photo Credits: All Photos on this page are from NASA.
DESIGN YOUR OWN X-PLANE STUDENT GUIDE | 11 

MAKE YOUR OWN X-PLANE

You will be rolling a six-sided die to determine each of the factors for your plane. For each line in the table below, roll the 

die and circle the description under that number.

Plane’s Purpose High Speed Fuel 

Efficient Quiet Travels Long Distances

Flies at High 

Altitudes Stealth

Number of Passengers 0 (Uninhabited) 1 (Just the Pilot) Multiple 

(Pilot plus passengers)

Propulsion System Propeller on 

the Nose

Wing 

Mounted 

Propellers

Rearmounted 

Propellers

Jets on the 

Fuselage

Wing 

Mounted Jets Your Choice

Wing Type Swept Back 

Wings

Rectangular 

Wings

Forward 

Swept Wings Delta Wings Truss Braced Wings No Wings

Empennage (Tail Section)

Conventional 

(Low 

Horizontal 

Stabilizer)

T-tail (High

Horizontal

Stabilizer)

Twin Tail Tailless

Single 

Vertical 

Tail (No 

Horizontal 

Stabilizer)

Your Choice

Undercarriage 

(Landing Gear) Pontoons Skis Tricycle Tail Dragger Tandem Your Choice

Is the undercarriage 

retractable? Yes No

Now it is time to design your plane. Your plane must show each of the features you circled in the table above. Your 

drawing should be on the back of this paper or on a separate piece of paper. Once you have drawn your new X-plane, 

add some color to it!

Name: ______________________________________ Date: _____________________ Period/Section: __________________
EP-2021-08-538-HQ

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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Washington, DC 20546