The SonicStar supersonic business jet concept was unveiled at the 2011 Paris Air Show It will cruise at mach 3.5 by leveraging superconductors to achieve 70% more efficiency. The aircraft will have a cruise fuel efficiency below 1.05 lbs. of fuel, per pound of thrust, per hour at Mach 3.5.
Jet-A, JP-4 and JP-7 fuel capable, the jet can carry 75,000 lb. of fuel providing a range of 6,000 nautical miles. The SonicStar's will enhance efficiency with its aerodynamic double delta supersonic laminar flow wing design. To reduce skin friction, the titanium structure wings feature carbon composite structural skins and panels, and titanium nickel-cobalt alloy leading and trailing edges, while the tail section has high temperature composite skins and titanium alloyed leading edges.Ja, you and your puny Mach 3.5.
SonicBlue vision is the development of revolutionary engine design to fundamentally change the way aero gas-turbine engines operate in order to significantly improve the performance of aircraft systems.
* Hybrid engine technology developed to offer a highly efficient, supersonic, variable bypass fan ratio engine design.
* The engine operates electrically by generating a large amount of on-board electric power through its superconducting electric turbine ring generator system.
* Engine produces sufficient power to operate the multi-stage counter rotating, superconducting, dual ring motor electric bypass fans and superconducting electric ring motor axial compressor, power generation and thrust comes from 5-stage superconducting axial turbine....MORE
At the Von Braun Institute (okay it's actually DARPA):
DARPA Scramjet hits ludicrous speed
While we wait for the all-electric airplane (above), some other aero goings-on:
Woomera (AUSTRALIA) – A scramjet fired Friday in southern Australia briefly hit speeds of ten times the speed of sound. The engine was boosted 330 miles into the air and hit 6800 miles per hour on the way down, fast enough to go from Los Angeles to New York in about 25 minutes. Source
Reuters has the story too.
And putting some serious money (and brains) into next-gen aircraft fuel...
