Aerion AS2

AS2
Role Supersonic business jet
National origin United States
Manufacturer Aerion
Program cost $4 billion[1]
Unit cost
$120M[2]
Developed from Aerion SBJ

The Aerion AS2 is a supersonic business jet under development by Aerion Corporation in collaboration with Lockheed Martin.

Development

Aerion announced at the May 2014 EBACE that it is redesigning its previous Aerion SBJ with a larger cabin, more range and three yet unspecified engines for a $100 million-plus target price, it aims to fly a prototype in late 2018 / early 2019 and certify the plane in 2021.[3][4] The unit cost was predicted to be US$120 million at the May 2015 EBACE.[5] In 2015 it was scheduled to enter service in 2023.[6] In May 2017, Aerion was hoping to launch it in early 2018.[7]

In December 2017, Aerion and Lockheed Martin announced they will explore its joint development without Airbus, aiming to fly in 2023 and to be certificated in 2025.[8] On December 15, after discussions with Lockheed’s Skunk Works, they announced a MoU to explore over a year the joint development of the supersonic business jet: engineering, certification and production. Lockheed developed supersonic aircraft like the F-16, the F-35, F-22 and the Mach 3+ SR-71, and concluded the AS2 concept warrants time and resources investment after reviewing Aerion’s aerodynamic technology. Through a previous two and a half years engineering collaboration with Airbus, Aerion advanced the AS2 aerodynamics and designed a preliminary wing and airframe structures, systems layout and fly-by-wire control system concept.[9]

Aerion said it is spending $1 billion for the AS2.[10] Hoping to sell 30 per year for $3.6 billion over 20 years, Aerion and Lockheed want to freeze its engines, wings and fuselage configuration in the Summer of 2018.[11] With a 2018 launch, preliminary design would be reviewed by mid-2020 before detailed design for a critical design review in early 2022. First flight would be targeted in mid-2023 for a New York to London transatlantic flight in October, at the 20th anniversary of the retirement of the Concorde. Certification is aimed for late 2025 and entry-into-service in early 2026. Production will ramp up from 12 in 2026 to 23 in 2027 and should stabilize at 36 per year from 2028, although it could increase up to four per month.[12]

Design

Configuration before December 2017 with engines over the wing trailing edge

The AS2 will fly at a speed of Mach 1.5, using supersonic laminar flow technology, and the wing design will allow for lower fuel consumption and increased travel ranges by reducing aerodynamic drag by 20%. The cabin is designed to accommodate up to 12 passengers.[13] NASA has issued a contract to model supersonic boom on ground.[14] New noise regulations coming in 2020 caused Aerion to change the design from two to three engines.[15]

Noise regulations will limit it at 54,400 kg (120,000 lb) which will limit range. It was initially designed with a modified Pratt & Whitney JT8D but engine selection is difficult even if GE Aviation and Rolls-Royce Plc have expressed their interest.[1] At the May 2017 EBACE, Aerion announced its selection of GE Aviation.[16] GE Aviation needs to develop a configuration accommodating reasonably well requirements for supersonic speed, subsonic speed and noise levels.[17]

Between May and December 2017, the GE collaboration resulted in moving the engines to the wing leading edge from its trailing edge, it features a T-tail and a higher wing aspect ratio. The final engine configuration is a core with billions of operational hours – suggesting the CFM56 – and a new low-pressure section optimised for supersonic speed. Managing the high intake temperatures at high-altitudes is a key challenge for the initial design.[18] An engine for supersonic flight needs a lower bypass ratio than modern turbofans, having a higher flow speed for better efficiency, but this is limited by noise regulations at takeoff, and a lower compression core like the CFM56 is better suited to higher temperatures encountered supersonically.[19]

In February 2018, Aerion released the GE engine configuration: the high-pressure core is derived from the eight-stage compressor and single-stage turbine of the CFM56, matched to a new low-pressure section optimised for supersonic speed with a 1.33m (52in) diameter fan instead of the 155-173cm (61-68.3in) fan of the 6:1 bypass ratio CFM56. Thrust will be reduced at takeoff to meet Chapter 5 noise regulations, requiring a longer balanced field takeoff as an acceptable compromise. Chapter 5 applies from 2018 to over 120,000 lb (54,000 kg) (54,400 kg) aircraft and all aircraft from 2021.[20] The CFM56 is derived from the B-1's GE F101, which was also developed into the F-14/-15/-16's GE F110 and its afterburner-less sibling, the U-2/B-2's GE F118.

The engine is a compromise between a big core for power and a small fan for wave drag, and Mach 1.4 is a compromise between higher speed and enough range. The AS2 will not incorporate the technology from the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator built by Lockheed's Skunk Works as it have to be included from the start, but a following AS3 may.[12]

Orders

In November 2015, Flexjet confirmed that they had placed a firm order valued at $2.4 billion for twenty Aerion AS2s, with delivery to begin in 2023.[2] Flexjet CEO Kenn Ricci said the company would use the supersonic jet for overseas flights and also in China, which does not have restrictions on sonic booms. Ricci noted that, with the aircraft traveling at Mach 1.2, its boom would not reach the ground, possibly allowing regulators to permit supersonic flight over land. Flexjet, owned by Directional Aviation Capital, offers customers fractional ownership of aircraft, rather than outright purchase.[21]

Specifications (AS2)

Data from Aerion[22]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Capacity: 8–11 passengers
  • Length: 170 ft (52 m)
  • Wingspan: 77 ft (23 m)
  • Height: 22 ft (6.7 m)
  • Wing area: 1,511 sq ft (140.4 m2)
  • Max takeoff weight: 133,000 lb (60,328 kg)
  • Fuel capacity: 59,084 lbs / 26,800 kg
  • Interior: 30 feet long, 6'2" high, 7'6" wide (9.1 * 1.9 * 2.2 m)
  • Powerplant: 3 × GE low bypass ratio, based on the CFM56 core turbofan, 18,000[12] lbf (80 kN) thrust each

Performance

  • Cruise speed: 803 kn (924 mph; 1,487 km/h) Mach 1.4, subsonic: Mach 0.95, boomless: Mach 1.1–1.2
  • Range: 4,200 nmi (4,833 mi; 7,778 km) at Mach 1.4, 5,400 nm / 10,000 km at Mach 0.95
  • Balanced field length at ISA, SL: 7,500ft / 2,286m

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Related lists

References

  1. 1 2 Stephen Trimble (16 May 2017). "The dream of resuming supersonic flight ramps up". Flightglobal.
  2. 1 2 "Flexjet Order For 20 Supersonic Jets Boosts Aerion". Aviation Week. Nov 18, 2015.
  3. ↑ Chad Trautvetter (20 May 2014). "Aerion SSBJ Now a Trijet with Bigger Cabin, More Range". Aviation International News.
  4. ↑ "Aerion advances supersonic ambitions with Airbus collaboration". Flightglobal. 22 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Aerion Taking Orders for AS2 Supersonic Bizjet". Flying Magazine. May 19, 2015.
  6. ↑ "New Supersonic Age in Flight Coming, Says Aerion Chief". Aviation International News. September 23, 2015.
  7. ↑ Kerry Lynch (May 22, 2017). "Aerion Eyes Early 2018 for AS2 Launch with GE Engines". Aviation International News.
  8. ↑ Chad Trautvetter (December 13, 2017). "Aerion, Lockheed Plan AS2 SSBJ Announcement by Friday". Aviation International News.
  9. ↑ "Aerion and Lockheed Martin Join Forces to Develop World's First Supersonic Business Jet" (PDF) (Press release). Aerion and Lockheed Martin. December 15, 2017.
  10. ↑ James Wynbrandt (May 29, 2018). "Aerion Beefs Up Team on Trek Toward Supersonic Flight". Aviation International News.
  11. ↑ Chen Chuanren (June 13, 2018). "Aerion Nearing Milestones on Supersonic AS2". Aviation International News.
  12. 1 2 3 Guy Norris (Jul 3, 2018). "Aerion Closes In On Supersonic AS2 Program Launch". Aviation Week Network.
  13. ↑ "Airbus to help develop first supersonic business jet". CNN. September 24, 2014. .
  14. ↑ "Rockwell Collins to Develop Sonic Boom Display". Flying Magazine. May 21, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Aerion continues search for an US assembly site". Flight global. 10 November 2015. .
  16. ↑ Fred George (May 22, 2017). "Supersonic Aerion Selects GE Engine". ShowNews. Aviation Week Network.
  17. ↑ Stephen Trimble (10 Oct 2017). "GE nears milestones on $1.5B bet on business aircraft". Flightglobal.
  18. ↑ Stephen Trimble (15 Dec 2017). "Lockheed and Aerion to develop supersonic business jet". Flightglobal.
  19. ↑ Bjorn Fehrm (December 20, 2017). "The Supersonic dilemma". Leeham.
  20. ↑ Kate Sarsfield (22 Feb 2018). "Aerion releases configuration of supersonic jet engine". Flightglobal.
  21. ↑ "Flexjet orders 20 supersonic business jets from Aerion". Reuters. 17 November 2015.
  22. ↑ "Performance Objectives & Specifications". Aerion. 2018.
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