The supersonic business jet will move a step closer with the release here Tuesday of an extensive market study that validates the business case behind the twin-engined Aerion concept financed by tycoon Robert Bass and his companies.
“We found there is an adequate market — with demand for 220 to 270 aircraft over 12 years, and up to 500 aircraft over 20 years — at our proposed price approaching $80 million,” Aerion vice chairman Brian Barents told Show News. “That would certainly justify going into production.”
Aerion differs from all other proposed supersonic business jets in that it will fly supersonic only over water, and at high subsonic speeds over land so as not to cause damage with a sonic boom.
This relatively low-tech approach does away with the need for exotic, boom-minimizing designs and results in a 12-passenger stand-up cabin airplane that sits on the ramp without looking like it came from another planet.
The marketing study spelled out the Aerion’s speed limitation in its research — but Aerion vice chairman Brian Barents maintains the results prove the concept is not limited at all. An Aerion would take nine hours, 33 minutes from New York to Tokyo, flying subsonically over the U.S. and making a stop in Anchorage, compared with 14 hours, 21 minutes for a non-stop Gulfstream V. On other sectors — such as New York-Miami — the SBJ can swing out to sea, fly at Mach 1.6 and still beat the subsonic jet by a large margin.
“We intend to be first to market with a supersonic business jet,” said Barents. “Others out there are going to rely on changing the rules (to fly supersonic over land with a low-signature boom) but we think that will add a minimum of five years and hundreds of millions of dollars to their programs. Meanwhile we will be first to by at least five years.”
So what is stopping it? For once it is not money — Robert Bass is funding Phase One of the $1.2 billion needed for development and, Barents says, major established aerospace companies are lined up as partners to carry the program forward. Rather, Aerion is awaiting the results of high-speed wind-tunnel tests before freezing the design, selecting the consortium to build the airplane and taking it through certification. Each potential partner has been selected in isolation and doesn’t yet know the identity of who else might be involved to shoulder future financing and development.
“This is not a project or an industry for the faint of heart, and it’s not for novices or dot commers. Whoever takes the lead on this program will have to be a well-known, legitimate and recognized company to take it forward. Based on the interest to date I suspect we won’t have any problem in achieving that.”
— Brian Barents
vice chairman
Aerion Corp.
“The ongoing low-speed wind-tunnel tests (at the University of Washington in Seattle) have really validated our predictions on low speed handling characteristics,” said Barents. These include docile handling, a shallow approach angle that make a droop-nose unnecessary, “and a very impressive balanced field length of under 6,000 feet that make possible operations from a vast number of general aviation airports,” he added. The secret is the wing designed by Dr. Richard R. Tracy, who has pioneered the supersonic natural laminar wing concept. —John Morris
The Aerion will be powered by two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219 engines derated to 19,000 pounds thrust. The engine is typically rated at 21,000 pounds in its more sedate existence on the Joint STARS, KC-135 tanker and AWACS aircraft.
“Pratt & Whitney has been very much involved in the process from Day 1, and has taken the lead in doing the airframe/engine integration,” said Aerion vice chairman Brian Barents.
Derating the engines and placing them over the wing should result in Stage 4 noise performance, he added.
