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47-470: The Aerion AS2 12-passenger aircraft aimed for Mach 1.6 with a supersonic natural laminar flow wing for a minimum projected range of 4,750 nm (8,800 km). A $ 4 billion development cost was anticipated, for a market of 300 over 10 years and 500 overall for $ 120 million each. By May 2014, Aerion had invested over $ 100 million for technological development. The company announced at the May 2014 EBACE that it

94-644: A MoU to explore over a year the joint development of the supersonic business jet: engineering, certification and production. Lockheed previously developed supersonic aircraft like the F-16 , the F-35 , F-22 , and the Mach 3+ SR-71 , and they concluded that the AS2 concept warranted time and resource investment after reviewing Aerion's aerodynamic technology. Throughout the two-and-a-half-year engineering collaboration with Airbus, Aerion advanced

141-407: A $ 300 million factory, a 110.6 acres (44.8 ha) campus, and production plants capable of building 48 AS2 aircraft per year. Aerion Park would also focus on green technologies, such as solar and 100% water recycling, to power its operations and leave the lowest environmental footprint possible. In June 2020, Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems disbanded their AS2 engineering teams due to the impact of

188-473: A high-altitude surveillance and eavesdropping aircraft. Aerion then announced that it would construct Aerion Park, a research, design, and manufacturing campus, in Melbourne, Florida , benefiting from the aerospace expertise of Florida's Space Coast . The AS2 would be manufactured in the new facility starting in 2023, with the goal of building five AS2 test aircraft from 2023 to 2025. The facility would include

235-535: A maximum of Mach   0.95 with all supersonic speeds beyond subsonic cruise attained with afterburning. All the Fairey Delta 2 initial supersonic test flying to Mach   1.1 was done without afterburning. Selecting the afterburner, which initially only had a maximum selection with no intermediate positions, would have caused an uncontrollable rapid acceleration to potentially hazardous speeds; i.e., too far beyond previously established flutter-free speeds. Only

282-573: A modified Pratt & Whitney JT8D , General Electric Affinity was selected in May 2017 to power the AS2. The first official design was completed in 2018, and a more detailed design followed in 2020 for the first prototype production. The engine's high-pressure core is derived from the CFM56 , and it matches a new twin fan, low-pressure section for a reduced bypass ratio that is better suited to supersonic flight. The AS2 engine design supports an altitude ceiling of 60,000 feet. General Electric's intentions on

329-415: A payload of 8,000 lb (3.6 t) and 70,000 lb (32 t) of fuel, used to trim weight and balance during the supersonic transition. The thick-lipped, subsonic-type engine inlets are replaced by axisymmetric external compression spiked inlets . Partners and suppliers included: Safran for the landing gear and nacelles , GKN Aerospace and Fokker Technologies for the electrical wiring and

376-448: A revamped empennage, and elongated nacelles . The plane is 145 ft (44 m) long, 79 ft (24 m) wide and 29 ft (8.8 m) high. Noise regulations caused Aerion to change the design from two engines to three. These noise regulations were to limit its MTOW at 54,400 kg (120,000 lb), which would have limited range. It plans to meet Stage 5 noise requirements and run 100% on biofuel. GE Aviation provides

423-404: Is rough . The type of flow occurring in a fluid in a channel is important in fluid-dynamics problems and subsequently affects heat and mass transfer in fluid systems. The dimensionless Reynolds number is an important parameter in the equations that describe whether fully developed flow conditions lead to laminar or turbulent flow. The Reynolds number is the ratio of the inertial force to

470-430: Is 79 ft (24 m) wide and has leading and trailing edges flaps for field performance and to meet aircraft noise regulations with reduced engine power. The fuselage has pronounced area ruling at its mid-section, and the cruciform horizontal stabilizer allows for a shorter airplane, down from 180 to 145 ft (55 to 44 m). The design is lighter with a 139,000 lb (63 t) gross weight, allowing

517-611: Is a reactor that uses laminar flow to study chemical reactions and process mechanisms. A laminar flow design for animal husbandry of rats for disease management was developed by Beall et al. 1971 and became a standard around the world including in the then- Eastern Bloc . Supercruise Supercruise is sustained supersonic flight of a supersonic aircraft without using afterburner . Many supersonic military aircraft are not capable of supercruise and can maintain Mach 1+ flight only in short bursts with afterburners. Aircraft such as

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564-432: Is a flow regime characterized by high momentum diffusion and low momentum convection . When a fluid is flowing through a closed channel such as a pipe or between two flat plates, either of two types of flow may occur depending on the velocity and viscosity of the fluid: laminar flow or turbulent flow . Laminar flow occurs at lower velocities, below a threshold at which the flow becomes turbulent. The threshold velocity

611-413: Is a very thin sheet of air lying over the surface of the wing (and all other surfaces of the aircraft). Because air has viscosity , this layer of air tends to adhere to the wing. As the wing moves forward through the air, the boundary layer at first flows smoothly over the streamlined shape of the airfoil . Here, the flow is laminar and the boundary layer is a laminar layer. Prandtl applied the concept of

658-460: Is determined by a dimensionless parameter characterizing the flow called the Reynolds number , which also depends on the viscosity and density of the fluid and dimensions of the channel. Turbulent flow is a less orderly flow regime that is characterized by eddies or small packets of fluid particles, which result in lateral mixing. In non-scientific terms, laminar flow is smooth , while turbulent flow

705-427: Is in the smooth flow of a viscous liquid through a tube or pipe. In that case, the velocity of flow varies from zero at the walls to a maximum along the cross-sectional centre of the vessel. The flow profile of laminar flow in a tube can be calculated by dividing the flow into thin cylindrical elements and applying the viscous force to them. Another example is the flow of air over an aircraft wing . The boundary layer

752-478: Is underway to add supercruise ability to the Sukhoi Su-57 . This has yet to bear fruit, but the stop-gap 117S engine, produced by this program, may achieve the supercruise goal already. While testing a Su-35BM fighter equipped with these engines, it managed to accelerate past Mach 1 without using the afterburner, suggesting that it had supercruise capability. It has yet to be seen whether this will be possible with

799-570: The Advanced Tactical Fighter program, which resulted in the F-22 Raptor . The F-22 Raptor's supercruise capabilities are touted as a major performance advantage over other fighters, with supercruise being demonstrated exceeding Mach   1.5. Supercruise capability provides advantages for stealth aircraft because an afterburner plume reflects radar signals and creates a significant infrared signature . Virtually all fighters prior to

846-474: The SR-71 Blackbird are designed to cruise at supersonic speed with afterburners enabled. Some fighter jets are capable of supercruise but only at high altitudes and in a clean configuration , so the term may imply "a significant increase in effective combat speed with a full weapons load over existing types". One of the pre-eminent military examples of supercruise is the F-22 Raptor , for which supercruise

893-591: The empennage structure, Spirit AeroSystems for the forward fuselage , Aernnova for the midfuselage structure, Potez for the doors, Eaton and Parker for systems and components, and Siemens Digital Industries Software for design and development. Aerion was then planning a 2024 first flight with a 2026 introduction. Aerion could propose an AS2 derivative to the United States military, as an Aerial Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance aircraft program. The High-Altitude Supercruise platform would serve as

940-468: The laminar–turbulent transition range depending on small disturbance levels in the fluid or imperfections in the flow system. If the Reynolds number is very small, much less than 1, then the fluid will exhibit Stokes , or creeping, flow, where the viscous forces of the fluid dominate the inertial forces. The specific calculation of the Reynolds number, and the values where laminar flow occurs, will depend on

987-460: The preliminary design review . A.I. technology and digital modelling shorten the AS2 development and avoid the need for a demonstrator aircraft . While Aerion had more than $ 500 million invested, total development could cost $ 5 billion, 25% more than the 2018 prediction. Development stopped when Aerion ceased operations in May 2021. In May 2017, Aerion selected GE Aviation to study the final engine configuration. Though initially designed with

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1034-416: The shearing force of the fluid: how fast the fluid is moving relative to how viscous it is, irrespective of the scale of the fluid system. Laminar flow generally occurs when the fluid is moving slowly or the fluid is very viscous. As the Reynolds number increases, such as by increasing the flow rate of the fluid, the flow will transition from laminar to turbulent flow at a specific range of Reynolds numbers,

1081-503: The supersonic transports (SST), Concorde, and the second version of the Tu-144 (the Tu-144D ) spent most of their time cruising at their design speeds without needing afterburning. Afterburning was added to Concorde for take-off to cope with weight increases that came after the initial design. It was also used to accelerate through the high-drag transonic speed range, not because the extra thrust

1128-457: The 12 passenger jet, reaching Mach 1.4 in supercruise with nonafterburning engines, over 5,000 nmi (9,300 km). Building on the NASA X-59 experience, cruise could be boomless up to Mach 1.2, as thicker air at lower altitude can refract the boom away, but this was the highest drag region for the previous supersonic natural laminar flow wing. The new substantially cranked arrow delta wing

1175-548: The AS2 aerodynamics and designed preliminary wing and airframe structures, a systems layout, and a fly-by-wire control system concept. Between May and December 2017, the GE collaboration resulted in moving the engines from the trailing edge to the wing leading edge, featuring a T-tail , and a higher wing aspect ratio . By this time, Aerion said it was spending $ 1 billion for the AS2. Aerion and Lockheed wanted to freeze its engines, wings, and fuselage configuration in summer 2018, with

1222-458: The AS2 on path for a 2023 first flight. Billionaire backer Robert Bass left Aerion's board of directors (but remained a lead investor), and Tom Vice replaced him as chairman after being promoted to president, CEO, and board member in August. Boeing gained two seats on Aerion's five-person board, while the amount of its investment remained undisclosed. In April 2020, Aerion unveiled an updated design for

1269-756: The Affinity turbofan, Honeywell the Primus Epic avionics and connectivity systems. PPG Industries provides the flight deck windshields and cabin window transparencies, Liebherr Aerospace the integrated air management system, BAE Systems the flight controls, and Collins Aerospace the actuation systems. Spirit AeroSystems , Safran , GKN, Aernnova, and Potez Aeronautique supply aerostructures, wiring, nacelle, landing gear, and aircraft doors. NASA research modelling Sonic boom on ground, to predict sonic booms and depict them for pilots, potentially easing restrictions against supersonic flights. The AS2 will not incorporate

1316-478: The COVID-19 pandemic on aviation , and Aerion had to push its first flight date back from 2024 to 2025. In September 2020, Aerion had begun windtunnel testing at Onera . By November, Aerion had amassed the equivalent of 78,000 nautical miles flown. Wind tunnel tests reached Mach 3, providing high-speed performance evaluations, loads, stability measurements, and control of transonic and supersonic velocities, to complete

1363-446: The F-22 cruise at Mach   0.8–0.9 while carrying a normal weapons load. There are a few engines in production that are designed to facilitate tactically significant supercruise: Independently, Russia is working on izdeliye 30 (after AL-31F and AL-41F derivatives modifications, like izdeliye 117S turbofan) and RD-33MKRU Morskaja Osa; an all-new AL-41 engine with a complete redesign

1410-448: The adjacent layers with little or no mixing. At low velocities, the fluid tends to flow without lateral mixing, and adjacent layers slide past one another smoothly. There are no cross-currents perpendicular to the direction of flow, nor eddies or swirls of fluids. In laminar flow, the motion of the particles of the fluid is very orderly with particles close to a solid surface moving in straight lines parallel to that surface. Laminar flow

1457-528: 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. In March 2021, another fractional ownership company, NetJets , announced that it had acquired purchase rights for 20 AS2s, bringing Aerion's order backlog value to over $ 10 billion. The memorandum of understanding between NetJets and Aerion calls for

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1504-442: The fluid, other definitions for Reynolds numbers can be used to predict the type of flow around the object. The particle Reynolds number Re p would be used for particle suspended in flowing fluids, for example. As with flow in pipes, laminar flow typically occurs with lower Reynolds numbers, while turbulent flow and related phenomena, such as vortex shedding , occur with higher Reynolds numbers. A common application of laminar flow

1551-416: The geometry of the flow system and flow pattern. The common example is flow through a pipe , where the Reynolds number is defined as where: For such systems, laminar flow occurs when the Reynolds number is below a critical value of approximately 2,040, though the transition range is typically between 1,800 and 2,100. For fluid systems occurring on external surfaces, such as flow past objects suspended in

1598-732: The goal of selling 30 jets per year for $ 3.6 billion over 20 years. 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 had 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. In October 2018, Aerion announced

1645-404: The laminar boundary layer to airfoils in 1904. An everyday example is the slow, smooth and optically transparent flow of shallow water over a smooth barrier. When water leaves a tap without an aerator with little force, it first exhibits laminar flow, but as acceleration by the force of gravity immediately sets in, the Reynolds number of the flow increases with speed, and the laminar flow of

1692-410: The project were confirmed at the 2018 National Business Aviation Association's annual conference. The Aerion AS2 should supercruise at up to Mach 1.4 over a range of 5,000 nm (9,260 km). Its projected maximum takeoff weight is 150,000 lb (68 t). The delta wing reduces aerodynamic drag by 20% compared to a conventional delta wing. The cabin seats up to 8-10 passengers. The plane has

1739-747: The selection of the Honeywell Primus Epic avionics. The company was financed by Robert Bass and anticipated spending $ 4 billion in development costs. Aerion forecasted a market for 300 AS2s over 10 years, resulting in 500 overall for $ 120 million each. A faster (Mach 1.6), larger-cabin, longer-range successor could follow as a business jet and small airliner, but newer engines would need to be above Mach 1.8. The partnership contract with Lockheed Martin expired on February 1, 2019. On February 5, Boeing announced its investment in Aerion, providing engineering, manufacturing, and flight test resources in order to keep

1786-503: The speed of sound without using afterburning. On 3   August 1954, a Gerfaut research aircraft powered by an SNECMA Atar 101 D2A engine exceeded Mach   1 in level flight without using afterburning. The first production aircraft to exceed Mach   1 in level flight without afterburning was the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter after its J65 engine was replaced with a J79 . The maximum speed without afterburning

1833-637: The technology from the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator built by Lockheed's Skunk Works , but a following AS3 may. Aerion could develop a family of supersonic and hypersonic aircraft. 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. 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

1880-444: The two companies to envisage Netjets operating an "Aerion Connect" network. Data from Aerion General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Laminar flow Laminar flow ( / ˈ l æ m ɪ n ər / ) is the property of fluid particles in fluid dynamics to follow smooth paths in layers, with each layer moving smoothly past

1927-504: The water downstream from the tap can transition to turbulent flow. Optical transparency is then reduced or lost entirely. Laminar airflow is used to separate volumes of air, or prevent airborne contaminants from entering an area. Laminar flow hoods are used to exclude contaminants from sensitive processes in science, electronics and medicine. Air curtains are frequently used in commercial settings to keep heated or refrigerated air from passing through doorways. A laminar flow reactor (LFR)

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1974-473: Was Mach   1.05. The P.1 prototype of the English Electric Lightning , powered by non-afterburning Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire engines, exceeded Mach   1 on 11   August 1954. A week previously, on 4   August, the P.1, WG760 flown by Roland Beamont on its maiden flight , had unknowingly exceeded Mach   1 in a climb. During development testing at English Electric it

2021-537: Was defined as "the ability to cruise at speeds of one and a half times the speed of sound or greater without the use of afterburner for extended periods in combat configuration." One of the best-known examples of an aircraft capable of supercruise, and the only notable non-military example, was the Concorde . Due to its long service as a commercial airliner, Concorde holds the record for the most time spent supersonic; more than all other western aircraft combined. A few early supersonic aircraft attained speeds just beyond

2068-568: Was established that the Lightning had a stabilized speed capability in level flight, without afterburning, of about Mach   1.2 and for the T.4 (2-seat trainer) 1.08. Flying just above the speed of sound without using afterburning, although done by the contractor as part of some flight trials does not appear to have been relevant to the operational capability of the aircraft. Service trials established intercept profiles for subsonic and supersonic targets at different altitudes with subsonic cruising at

2115-662: Was predicted to be US$ 120 million at the May 2015 EBACE. In May 2015, NASA contracted Rockwell Collins to model supersonic boom on ground: predicting sonic booms and allowing pilots to see affected areas could ease restrictions against supersonic flights over inhabited areas. By September 2015, it was scheduled to enter service in 2023. In May 2017, Aerion was hoping to launch it in early 2018. In December 2017, Aerion and Lockheed Martin announced that they would explore its joint development without Airbus , aiming to fly in 2023 and be certificated in 2025. On December 15, after discussions with Lockheed's Skunk Works , they announced

2162-473: Was redesigning its previous Aerion SBJ with a larger cabin, more range, and three yet unspecified engines for a $ 100 million-plus target price. The redesign aimed to fly a prototype in late 2018/early 2019 and certify the plane itself in 2021. Aerion intended to finance $ 3 billion for development, reducing risk for industry partners. In September 2014, Aerion partnered with Airbus . Airbus Defence have supersonic expertise and available resources. The unit cost

2209-406: Was required, but because it was available and improved the operating economics. The redesigned Tu-144D used engines with no afterburners which, together with other improvements, increased the full payload range from 3,080 to 5,330 km (1,910 to 3,310 mi) (Concorde's operational range was 6,470 km or 4,020 mi). The United States Air Force set supercruise as a core requirement for

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