Aerion AS2 / SBJ (Supersonic Business Jet)

History of the Aerion AS2/SBJ (Supersonic Business Jet)

The Aerion AS2 is a supersonic business jet marketed by American billionaire philanthropist Robert Bass under the Aerion Corporation brand (founded in Reno, Nevada in 2004). The aircraft follows the proven supersonic concept pioneered decades ago by the famous Aerospatiale-BAC "Concorde" supersonic aircraft, and the AS2 project aims to produce a more viable end product for civilian airspace operations. The aircraft originally appeared under the name "SBJ", which means "Supersonic Business Jet", which means "Supersonic Business Jet" and was originally intended to be powered by two turbofan engines, but was later redesigned with three engines. configuration.

The product has been in development since June 2014, with flight testing tentatively scheduled for sometime in 2019, with an actual operational year sometime after 2020.

The original Concord was decommissioned in 2003, and it grew out of innovations in the 1960s. Its groundbreaking capabilities at the time never really brought the expected era of supersonic passenger flight to the average pilot, and proved to be a rather expensive product to operate in large numbers while being banned due to its violent sonic boom.

Overflying many airspaces around the world. The Aerion AS2 concept is designed to achieve a "knock-free" Mach 1.0+ approach to mitigate ground-based sonic boom threats in populated areas. Several approaches to aircraft design are considered sonic boom reducers - including more compact dimensions compared to Concorde and modern advanced avionics to track potential baby boomers.

The AS2 is recognized as an aircraft that can reach speeds up to Mach 1.2 without producing a roaring signal audible on the ground, giving it the latitude needed to cover the airspace of many parts of the world today to traverse the world. This phenomenon is known as For a "boom cut-off," a sonic boom with a velocity just above Mach 1.0 fails to reach the ground and disperses into a subsonic explosion at about 5,000 feet.

Externally, the AS2 will feature a sleek design with a cockpit typically located behind the long nose cone assembly (unlike the Concorde, the AS2's nose will not be tilted for better ground visibility). The wing will be short-span, swept-free, with a state-of-the-art laminar flow profile, and will be mounted low for the specific purpose of supersonic flight - in fact, the wing will be officially called a supersonic natural layer Stream Flow (SNLF). The passenger cabin forms part of the tubular fuselage and tapers towards the tail at the stern, with a vertical tail attached. Although the tail is mounted low on the vertical tail itself, the tail is profiled high on the aircraft. As expected, the landing gear is retractable and is a tricycle arrangement using a single-wheel front leg and a pair of two-wheel main legs.

The engines are mounted externally on the rear of the design to ensure maximum airflow efficiency and noise control required during approach and take-off. One engine would span each side of the rear fuselage, with the last engine mounted on the bottom of the tail in a more classic "three-jet" configuration.

Overall dimensions include a length of 160 feet, a wingspan of 70 feet and a height of 26 feet. The structure of the aircraft includes the use of carbon fiber (fuselage, wings, nacelles, tail), aluminum, steel, and corrosion-resistant titanium (leading edge of the wing).

Internally, the plane will be staffed by two pilots and can accommodate up to 11 passengers, depending on seating configuration. Cabin space will be approximately 30 feet long, on par with the competing Gulfstream G450 series. A galley will help improve passenger comfort, and there are two toilets, one in front of the cabin and one behind.

A dining/meeting table is also located aft. The cabin itself will be equipped with amenities expected by the business jet crowd, with a single-aisle layout with a ceiling height of 6.2 feet and a wall-to-wall width of 7.3 feet.

Circular rectangular windows provide expansive exterior views, as well as natural light for daytime flights. Four of the passenger seats can be configured as sleepers for long journeys. Luggage storage will be walk-in.

The cockpit will use state-of-the-art fly-by-wire (FBW) methods to control many of today's aircraft, including military aircraft, as well as full-color multi-function displays (MFDs).

Estimated performance specifications include a top speed of Mach 1.6 and a long-range cruise speed of Mach 1.4, with an expected range of 5,000 nautical miles on full fuel. The performance of the AS2 will reduce a typical 14-hour flight to just 9 hours, meaning a round-trip transatlantic trip will operate within one business day (eg, Chicago-Frankfurt will become a 5-hour trip). , the journey to 51,000 feet and through the supersonic, supersonic and subsonic envelopes to the desired outcome). By allowing the AS2 to burn fuel at the same rate in the subsonic or supersonic flight range, fuel efficiency has improved over previous Concorde aircraft.

Maximum takeoff weight is 115,000 pounds and empty weight is 49,800 feet.

Currently, U.S. federal aviation law prohibits the use of supersonic flight in air travel. Internationally, however, restrictions have eased, and the likely technological success of AS2 could in turn ease restrictions on U.S. overland travel over the next decade.

Overwater flight is not restricted, allowing AS2 to operate at "full throttle".

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