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Airbus and Aerion to Build Supersonic Business Jet

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  1. Airbus and Aerion to Build Supersonic Business Jet
    Technology Collaboration to Hit Mach 1.6 by 2019

    Airbus Group and Aerion Corporation have agreed to collaborate on technologies associated with the future of high-performance flight. To further their mutual objectives, both companies will exchange knowledge and capabilities in design, manufacturing and certification. For Aerion, this means collaboration to advance the development and commercialization of the Aerion AS2 supersonic business jet. Under the agreement, Airbus Group, through its Defense and Space Division, will provide technical and certification support, which will include the assignment of senior engineering staff to Aerion’s expanding development organization. “This is a major step forward for Aerion,” said the company’s chairman and principal investor, Robert M. Bass. “It puts us solidly on track toward our objective of certifying the world’s first supersonic business jet in 2021. Needless to say, we are thrilled with the resources Airbus Group will bring to the program.”

    Over the longer term, Aerion will provide proprietary technology and assistance to Airbus Group in its high-performance aircraft technology development. These technologies include Aerion’s extensive research, its proprietary design tools and patented aerodynamic designs. “Aerion’s pioneering work has broad applications for both performance and efficiency. We are looking forward to a fruitful cooperation,” said Jean Botti, Airbus Group Chief Technical Officer.
  2. The joint effort provides expanded engineering capabilities to Aerion as it enters a design phase in which propulsion systems, structures, avionics and equipment are specified and sourced. Under the current timeline, Aerion is targeting first flight of the AS2 in the 2019 timeframe. “This agreement accomplishes two major objectives,” according to Aerion CEO Doug Nichols. “It provides validation from the industry leader in aerospace innovation, and it decisively kicks the program into high gear. Each company will benefit. Aerion moves quickly toward building a supersonic jet, and Airbus Group gains exclusive access to more than a decade of successful research and proprietary high-performance aircraft technology.”
  3. Aerion Corporation of Reno, Nevada, was formed from an advanced engineering group in 2002 to reintroduce commercial supersonic flight. Aerion’s research began more than 20 years ago, and has culminated in the design of a practical and efficient supersonic business jet as the result of its patented applications of supersonic natural laminar flow technology. The company’s portfolio also includes proprietary design and optimization tools, patented thin wing designs, propulsion integration technology and related expertise. Initial collaboration activities have commenced between engineering teams from Aerion and Airbus Defense & Space at Aerion’s new and larger engineering offices in Reno, Nevada.
  4. Aerion has worked closely with NASA representatives to test supersonic laminar flow airfoils in flight with great success, and has also conducted successful tests in the European Transonic Wind Tunnel, widely acknowledged as the most advanced of its type in the world. Full airframe wind tunnel models have been tested in the University of Washington wind tunnel complex. Moreover, Aerion has developed proprietary computer design tools that have helped it refine the aircraft’s aerodynamic configuration. Aerion's supersonic natural laminar flow wing differs from earlier supersonic designs, such as the Concorde’s modified delta wing. It is relatively straight (low sweep), wide and very thin, allowing the wing to achieve laminar flow over as much as 90 percent of its surface. Laminar flow reduces skin friction drag, which can reduce overall airframe drag by as much as 20 percent, allowing for lower fuel consumption and longer range.
  5. The AS2 will have a range of more than 5,450 statute miles (4,750 nautical miles), connecting cities such as London and Seattle or San Francisco and Tokyo nonstop. Over water, it will cruise at speeds between Mach 1.4 and 1.6 - almost twice the speed of today’s fastest civil jets. In areas where supersonic speed is prohibited (mainly over the U.S.), the AS2 will cruise efficiently at speeds up to Mach 0.99, just under the speed of sound. In other populated areas, it can cruise at speeds up to Mach 1.2 without a sonic boom reaching the ground. The aircraft will seat up to 12 passengers.
  6. The AS2 will be built largely of carbon fiber composite material for low weight, high strength and wing stiffness. While the shape of the AS2 is unusual compared to today’s subsonic aircraft, its systems and underlying technology are conventional by current standards, minimizing technological risk and easing the certification process. Based on a series of worldwide studies with current owners of long-range jets, Aerion projects a market for at least 600 supersonic business aircraft over 20 years. The projected price of the AS2 is above $100 million in current dollars.
  7. Aerion AS2 Performance Objectives and Specifications

    Maximum operating speed: 1.6 Mach
    Long-range cruise, supersonic: 1.4 Mach
    Boomless cruise: 1.1 -1.2 Mach
    High-speed subsonic cruise: .99 Mach
    Long-range subsonic cruise: .95 Mach
    Approach speed: <135 kts /250 kph
    Range: (7,500 ft BFL) IFR >5,000 nm / 9,260 km
    Range: (6,000 ft BFL) IFR >4,000 nm / 7,408 km
    MTOW: 115,000 lbs / 52,163 kg
    BOW: 49,800 lb / 22,588 kg
    Wing area: 1,350 sq ft / 125 sq m

    EXTERIOR DIMENSIONS:

    Length 160 ft / 49 m
    Width/wingspan 70 ft / 21 m
    Height 26 ft / 8 m

    INTERNAL DIMENSIONS:

    Max height 6 ft 2 in / 1.9 m
    Wax width 7 ft 3 in / 2.2 m
    Cabin length 30 ft / 9.1 m

    For More Information:

    Aerion Corporation
    1325 Airmotive Way, Suite 370
    Reno, NV 89502
    www.aerionsupersonic.com

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  8. Aerion AS2 Supersonic Promo Video...

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