The concorde has a successor!

[theblackalchemist]

The concorde has a successor!

A new aircraft, capable of flying at supersonic speeds, is being developed to replace Concorde. And while it may not have the same grace, style and size of its predecessor, its developers believe its top speed of Mach 1.6 will transform the way international business is conducted.

 

The Aerion jet, its designers say, will be fuel-efficient at cruise speeds – just below the speed of sound – allowing it to perform short- and long-haul overland missions with the same economies as today’s large business jets.

 

“Our philosophy is to utilise proven technologies and to minimise complexity,” said Dr Richard Tracy, Aerion’s Chief Technology Officer. “For example, the aircraft’s wings will be made from carbon fibre composites for low weight, and employing construction methods and materials common on fighters and on recent civil aircraft.

 

“Also, the aircraft’s top speed of Mach 1.6 eliminates the requirement for special high-temperature materials,” he added.

 

The aircraft, Tracy informed, incorporates what is known as Supersonic Natural Laminar Flow (SNLF) technology that substantially reduces drag at supersonic as well as high-subsonic cruise speeds.

 

“It’s almost as if the wing isn’t there,” he said. “The Aerion wing achieves about a 50 per cent drag reduction over conventional delta wing supersonic designs and a total airframe drag reduction of about 20 per cent.”

 

Test flights for the aircraft have been slated for 2012 and executives at Aerion – a US-based company – claim to already have 50 interested parties, all of whom have paid the $2,50,000 deposit for the jet.

 

“Flight times in general will be reduced about 40 per cent and 8-12 passengers can easily be accommodated in its cabin that is somewhere between today’s super-midsize and large business jets,” said Jeff Miller, Aerion spokesman.

 

“Also, travelers will feel a lot better when they step off the aeroplane,” he added. Though the jets will be priced at $80 million each, Miller promises that the cost per nautical mile will be similar to today’s large business jets, such as the Boeing 747.

 

The Concorde – with only 20 ever built – started its service in 1976 and continued for 27 years, offering the fastest transatlantic travel available to man.

 

But in 2003, Air France and British Airways simultaneously announced that they would retire Concorde later that year, citing low passenger numbers following the 2000 crash, the slump in air travel following the September 11 attacks and rising maintenance costs.

 

 

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