Nevada: Airbus is teaming up with US-based Aerospace firm Aerion to create a supersonic jet that can fly from London to New York in three hours and from Los Angeles to Tokyo in six hours. The Aerion AS2 business jet will fly at 1,217 mph, using proprietary supersonic laminar flow technology - almost as fast as Concorde, which flew at 1,350 mph.
The two companies announced this week that they will be joining forces on the project, sharing “capabilities in design, manufacturing and certification”. Engineers from Airbus' Defence and Space Division will work with Aerion at its base in Reno, Nevada. The cost of the AS2 is thought to be more than $100million - over £60million - and Aerion hopes test flights will begin by 2019.
The jet, which will fly between major global cities, will be made mostly from carbon fibre composite material. Design features include wings which reduce overall drag by 20 percent, allowing for lower fuel consumption and longer range and a luxurious 30-foot-long cabin will seat up to 12 passengers. Aerion Chairman Robert M Bass, said in a statement, “This is a major step forward for Aerion.
It puts us solidly on track toward our objective of certifying the world's first supersonic business jet in 2021.” After 27 years of service, British Airways retired the Airbus' Concorde airliner - which travelled at more than twice the speed of sound -- in October 2003, signaling the end of the supersonic passenger jet. Modern commercial long-haul jets typically cruise at speeds between 480 and 560 mph.
The plan is to certify the plane in 2021 with first delivery in 2022. Flight testing would begin in roughly 2019. Aerion officials knew it would take a well-established original equipment manufacturer to complete the project, he said.
“We couldn't be more delighted with the choice of Airbus,” Barents said. “We think that their footprint around the world is clearly going to help us as we develop the airplane.” Billionaire Bass has been open about his personal mission to offer the first business jet to fly faster than the speed of sound, a project begun in 2002.
Aerion, Chief Executive Officer Doug Nichols, told CNN: “The collaboration with Airbus was an essential piece in order to bring the expertise of a premier aircraft development concern into the fold.” The US forbids civilian planes from the sound barrier -- about 750 mph -- while flying overland due to noisy sonic booms, but the AS2 model will fly at subsonic speeds until it reaches the ocean, when it will speed up. Over Europe it can fly at supersonic speeds without detection.
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