Supersonic transport
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (December 2023) |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Concorde.highup.arp.750pix.jpg/220px-Concorde.highup.arp.750pix.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Tu-144.jpg/220px-Tu-144.jpg)
A supersonic transport (SST) or a supersonic airliner is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. To date, the only SSTs to see regular service have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978 and it was last flown in 1999 by NASA. Concorde's last commercial flight was in October 2003, with a November 26, 2003 ferry flight being its last airborne operation. Following the permanent cessation of flying by Concorde, there are no remaining SSTs in commercial service. Several companies have each proposed a supersonic business jet, which may bring supersonic transport back again.
Supersonic airliners have been the objects of numerous recent[when?] ongoing design studies. Drawbacks and design challenges are excessive noise generation (at takeoff and due to sonic booms during flight), high development costs, expensive construction materials, high fuel consumption, extremely high emissions, and an increased cost per seat over subsonic airliners. However, despite these challenges, Concorde claimed it operated profitably.[1]
History
Planning
Throughout the 1950s an SST looked possible from a technical standpoint, but it was not clear if it could be made economically viable. Because of differences in lift generation, aircraft operating at supersonic speeds have approximately one-half the lift-to-drag ratio of subsonic aircraft. This implies that for any given required amount of lift, the aircraft will have to supply about twice the thrust, leading to considerably greater fuel use. This effect is pronounced at speeds close to the speed of sound, as the aircraft is using twice the thrust to travel at about the same speed. The relative effect is reduced as the aircraft accelerates to higher speeds. Offsetting this increase in fuel use was the potential to greatly increase sortie rates of the aircraft, at least on medium and long-range flights where the aircraft spends a considerable amount of time in cruise. SST designs flying at least three times as fast as existing subsonic transports were possible, and would thus be able to replace as many as three planes in service, and thereby lower costs in terms of manpower and maintenance.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Supersonic.arp.750pix.jpg/220px-Supersonic.arp.750pix.jpg)
Serious work on SST designs started in the mid-1950s, when the first generation of supersonic
In the early 1960s, various executives of US aerospace companies were telling the US public and Congress that there were no technical reasons an SST could not be produced. In April 1960, Burt C Monesmith, a vice president with
Environmental concerns
The SST was seen as particularly offensive due to its
Later, an additional threat to the ozone was hypothesized as a result of the exhaust's
Concorde
Despite the model-observation discrepancy surrounding the ozone concern, in the mid-1970s, six years after its first supersonic test flight,.
Along with shifting political considerations, the flying public continued to show interest in high-speed ocean crossings. This started additional design studies in the US, under the name "AST" (Advanced Supersonic Transport). Lockheed's SCV was a new design for this category, while Boeing continued studies with the 2707 as a baseline.
By this time, the economics of past SST concepts were no longer reasonable. When first designed, the SSTs were envisioned to compete with long-range aircraft seating 80 to 100 passengers such as the Boeing 707, but with newer aircraft such as the Boeing 747 carrying four times that, the speed and fuel advantages of the SST concept were taken away by sheer size.
Another problem was that the wide range of speeds over which an SST operates makes it difficult to improve engines. While subsonic engines had made great strides in increased efficiency through the 1960s with the introduction of the turbofan engine with ever-increasing bypass ratios, the fan concept is difficult to use at supersonic speeds where the "proper" bypass is about 0.45,[19] as opposed to 2.0 or higher for subsonic designs. For both of these reasons the SST designs were doomed by higher operational costs, and the AST programs vanished by the early 1980s.
Profitability
Concorde only sold to British Airways and Air France, with subsidized purchases that were to return 80% of the profits to the government. In practice for almost all of the length of the arrangement, there was no profit to be shared. After Concorde was privatized, cost reduction measures (notably the closing of the metallurgical wing testing site which had done enough temperature cycles to validate the aircraft through to 2010) and ticket price raises led to substantial profits.
Since Concorde stopped flying, it has been revealed that over the life of Concorde, the plane did prove profitable, at least to British Airways. Concorde operating costs over nearly 28 years of operation were approximately £1 billion, with revenues of £1.75 billion.[20]
Final flights
On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590 crashed shortly after take-off with all 109 occupants and four on ground killed; the only fatal incident involving Concorde. Commercial service was suspended until November 2001, and Concorde aircraft were retired in 2003 after 27 years of commercial operations.
The last regular passenger flights landed at
By the end of the 20th century, projects like the
, etc. had not been realized.Design
Aerodynamics
For all vehicles traveling through air, the force of
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Qualitive_variation_of_cd_with_mach_number.png/220px-Qualitive_variation_of_cd_with_mach_number.png)
As speeds approach the speed of sound, the additional phenomenon of wave drag appears. This is a powerful form of drag that begins at transonic speeds (around Mach 0.88). Around Mach 1, the peak coefficient of drag is four times that of subsonic drag. Above the transonic range, the coefficient drops drastically again, although remains 20% higher by Mach 2.5 than at subsonic speeds. Supersonic aircraft must have considerably more power than subsonic aircraft require to overcome this wave drag, and although cruising performance above transonic speed is more efficient, it is still less efficient than flying subsonically.
Another issue in supersonic flight is the
Engines
When Concorde was being designed by
Turbofan engines improve efficiency by increasing the amount of cold low-pressure air they accelerate, using some of the energy normally used to accelerate hot air in the classic non-bypass turbojet. The ultimate expression of this design is the turboprop, where almost all of the jet thrust is used to power a very large fan – the propeller. The efficiency curve of the fan design means that the amount of bypass that maximizes overall engine efficiency is a function of forward speed, which decreases from propellers, to fans, to no bypass at all as speed increases. Additionally, the large frontal area taken up by the low-pressure fan at the front of the engine increases drag, especially at supersonic speeds, and means the bypass ratios are much more limited than on subsonic aircraft.[22]
For example, the early Tu-144S was fitted with a low bypass turbofan engine which was much less efficient than Concorde's turbojets in supersonic flight. The later TU-144D featured turbojet engines with comparable efficiency. These limitations meant that SST designs were not able to take advantage of the dramatic improvements in fuel economy that high bypass engines brought to the subsonic market, but they were already more efficient than their subsonic turbofan counterparts.
Structure
Supersonic vehicle speeds demand narrower wing and fuselage designs, and are subject to greater stresses and temperatures. This leads to aeroelasticity problems, which require heavier structures to minimize unwanted flexing. SSTs also require a much stronger (and therefore heavier) structure because their fuselage must be pressurized to a greater differential than subsonic aircraft, which do not operate at the high altitudes necessary for supersonic flight. These factors together meant that the empty weight per seat of Concorde is more than three times that of a Boeing 747.
Concorde and the TU-144 were both constructed of conventional aluminum: Concorde of
Cost
Aircraft | Concorde[23] | Boeing 747-400[24] |
---|---|---|
Passenger miles/imperial gallon | 17 | 109 |
Passenger miles/US gallon | 14 | 91 |
Litres/passenger 100 km | 16.6 | 3.1 |
Higher fuel costs and lower passenger capacities due to the aerodynamic requirement for a narrow fuselage make SSTs an expensive form of commercial civil transportation compared with subsonic aircraft. For example, the Boeing 747 can carry more than three times as many passengers as Concorde while using approximately the same amount of fuel.
Nevertheless, fuel costs are not the bulk of the price for most subsonic aircraft passenger tickets.[25] For the transatlantic business market that SST aircraft were utilized for, Concorde was actually very successful, and was able to sustain a higher ticket price. Now that commercial SST aircraft have stopped flying, it has become clearer that Concorde made substantial profit for British Airways.[20]
Noise pollution
Extreme jet velocities used during take-off caused Concorde and Tu-144s to produce significant take-off noise. Communities near the airport were affected by high engine noise levels, which prompted some regulators to disfavor the practice. SST engines need a fairly high specific thrust (net thrust/airflow) during supersonic cruise, to minimize engine cross-sectional area and, thereby, nacelle drag. Unfortunately this implies a high jet velocity, which makes the engines noisy, particularly at low speeds/altitudes and at take-off.[26]
Therefore, a future SST might well benefit from a variable cycle engine, where the specific thrust (and therefore jet velocity and noise) is low at take-off, but is forced high during supersonic cruise. Transition between the two modes would occur at some point during the climb and back again during the descent (to minimize jet noise upon approach). The difficulty is devising a variable cycle engine configuration that meets the requirement for a low cross-sectional area during supersonic cruise.
The
The annoyance of a sonic boom can be avoided by waiting until the aircraft is at high altitude over water before reaching supersonic speeds; this was the technique used by Concorde. However, it precludes supersonic flight over populated areas. Supersonic aircraft have poor lift/drag ratios at subsonic speeds as compared to subsonic aircraft (unless technologies such as variable-sweep wings are employed), and hence burn more fuel, which results in their use being economically disadvantageous on such flight paths.
Concorde had an overpressure of 1.94 lb/sq ft (93 Pa) (133 dBA SPL). Overpressures over 1.5 lb/sq ft (72 Pa) (131 dBA SPL) often cause complaints.[28]
If the intensity of the boom can be reduced, then this may make even very large designs of supersonic aircraft acceptable for overland flight. Research suggests that changes to the nose cone and tail can reduce the intensity of the sonic boom below that needed to cause complaints. During the original SST efforts in the 1960s, it was suggested that careful shaping of the fuselage of the aircraft could reduce the intensity of the sonic boom's shock waves that reach the ground. One design caused the
When it comes to public policy, for example, the FAA prohibits commercial airplanes from flying at supersonic speeds above sovereign land governed by the United States because of the negative impact the sonic boom brings to humans and animal populations below.[29]
Variable speeds
The aerodynamic design of a supersonic aircraft needs to change with its speed for optimal performance. Thus, an SST would ideally change shape during flight to maintain optimal performance at both subsonic and supersonic speeds. Such a design would introduce complexity which increases maintenance needs, operations costs, and safety concerns.
In practice all supersonic transports have used essentially the same shape for subsonic and supersonic flight, and a compromise in performance is chosen, often to the detriment of low speed flight. For example,
The
Skin temperature
At supersonic speeds an aircraft
Subsonic aircraft are usually made of aluminium. However aluminium, while being light and strong, is not able to withstand temperatures much over 127 °C; above 127 °C the aluminium gradually loses its properties that were brought about by age hardening.
In 2017 a new carbide ceramic coating material was discovered which could resist temperatures occurring at Mach 5 or above, perhaps as high as 3000 °C.[31]
Range
The range of supersonic aircraft can be estimated with the Breguet range equation.
The high per-passenger takeoff weight makes it difficult to obtain a good fuel fraction. This issue, along with the challenge presented by supersonic lift/drag ratios, greatly limits the range of supersonic transports. Because long-distance routes were not a viable option, airlines had little interest in buying the jets.[citation needed]
Commercial practicality
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Aeroflot_Tupolev_Tu-144_Paris_Air_Show_1975_Gilliand.jpg/220px-Aeroflot_Tupolev_Tu-144_Paris_Air_Show_1975_Gilliand.jpg)
Airlines potentially value very fast aircraft, because it enables the aircraft to make more flights per day, providing a higher return on investment. Also, passengers generally prefer faster, shorter-duration trips to slower, longer-duration trips, so operating faster aircraft can give an airline a competitive advantage, even to the extent that many customers will willingly pay higher fares for the benefit of saving time and/or arriving sooner.[citation needed] However, Concorde's high noise levels around airports, time zone issues, and insufficient speed meant that only a single return trip could be made per day, so the extra speed was not an advantage to the airline other than as a selling feature to its customers.[32] The proposed American SSTs were intended to fly at Mach 3, partly for this reason. However, allowing for acceleration and deceleration time, a trans-Atlantic trip on a Mach 3 SST would be less than three times as fast as a Mach 1 trip.
Since SSTs produce sonic booms at supersonic speeds they are rarely permitted to fly supersonic over land, and must fly supersonic over sea instead. Since they are inefficient at subsonic speeds compared to subsonic aircraft, range is deteriorated and the number of routes that the aircraft can fly non-stop is reduced. This also reduces the desirability of such aircraft for most airlines.
Supersonic aircraft have higher per-passenger fuel consumption than subsonic aircraft; this makes the ticket price necessarily higher, all other factors being equal, as well as making that price more sensitive to the price of oil. (It also makes supersonic flights less friendly to the environment and sustainability, two growing concerns of the general public, including air travelers.)
Investing in research and development work to design a new SST can be considered as an effort to push the speed limit of air transport. Generally, other than an urge for new technological achievement, the major driving force for such an effort is competitive pressure from other modes of transport. Competition between different service providers within a mode of transport does not typically lead to such technological investments to increase the speed. Instead, the service providers prefer to compete in service quality and cost.[citation needed] An example of this phenomenon is high-speed rail. The speed limit of rail transport had been pushed so hard to enable it to effectively compete with road and air transport. But this achievement was not done for different rail operating companies to compete among themselves. This phenomenon also reduces the airline desirability of SSTs, because, for very long-distance transportation (a couple of thousand kilometers), competition between different modes of transport is rather like a single-horse race: air transport does not have a significant competitor. The only competition is between the airline companies, and they would rather pay moderately to reduce cost and increase service quality than pay much more for a speed increase.[citation needed] Also, for-profit companies generally prefer low risk business plans with high probabilities of appreciable profit, but an expensive leading-edge technological research and development program is a high-risk enterprise, as it is possible that the program will fail for unforeseeable technical reasons or will meet cost overruns so great as to force the company, due to financial resource limits, to abandon the effort before it yields any marketable SST technology, causing potentially all investment to be lost.
Environmental impact
The
If there were 2,000 SSTs in 2035, there would be 5,000 flights per day at 160 airports and the SST fleet would emit ~96 million metric tons of CO₂ per year (like
Completed projects
On August 21, 1961, a Douglas DC-8-43 (registration N9604Z) exceeded Mach 1 in a controlled dive during a test flight at Edwards Air Force Base. The crew were William Magruder (pilot), Paul Patten (copilot), Joseph Tomich (flight engineer), and Richard H. Edwards (flight test engineer).[37] This is the first supersonic flight by a civilian airliner.[37]
In total, 20 Concordes were built: two prototypes, two development aircraft and 16 production aircraft. Of the sixteen production aircraft, two did not enter commercial service and eight remained in service as of April 2003. All but two of these aircraft are preserved; the two that are not are F-BVFD (cn 211), parked as a spare-parts source in 1982 and scrapped in 1994, and F-BTSC (cn 203), which crashed outside Paris on July 25, 2000, killing 100 passengers, 9 crew members, and 4 people on the ground.
A total of sixteen airworthy Tupolev Tu-144s were built; a seventeenth Tu-144 (reg. 77116) was never completed. There was also at least one ground test airframe for static testing in parallel with the prototype 68001 development.
Future development
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/Lockheed_Martin_Supersonic_Design_Concept.jpg/220px-Lockheed_Martin_Supersonic_Design_Concept.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Boeing_Concept_Supersonic_Aircraft_-_Icon-II.jpg/220px-Boeing_Concept_Supersonic_Aircraft_-_Icon-II.jpg)
The desire for a second-generation supersonic aircraft has remained within some elements of the aviation industry,[38][39] and several concepts have emerged since the retirement of Concorde.
According to
Previous concepts
In November 2003,
In May 2008, it was reported that
The SAI Quiet Supersonic Transport is a 12-passenger design from Lockheed Martin that is to cruise at Mach 1.6, and is to create a sonic boom only 1% as strong as that generated by Concorde.[49]
The supersonic
2016–present
In March 2016, Boom Technology revealed that it is in the development phases of building a 40-passenger supersonic jet capable of flying Mach 1.7, claiming that the design simulation shows that it will be quieter and 30% more efficient than the Concorde and will be able to fly Los Angeles to Sydney in 6 hours. It is planned to go into service in 2029.[50]
For its economic viability, NASA research since 2006 has focused on reducing the
NASA should fly a low-boom demonstrator in 2019, reduced from double bangs to soft thumps by airframe shaping, to inquire community response, in support of a prospectiveThe
At the October 2017 NBAA convention in Las Vegas, with NASA supporting only research, various companies faced engineering challenges to propose aircraft with no engine available, variable top speeds and operating models:[54]
- The Boom XB-1 Baby Boomthird-scale testbed should fly in 2018 as the powerplant is selected for a 45/55-seat trijet airliner reaching Mach 2.2 over water for 9,000 nmi (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) with one stop for a business-class fare. Aiming for 2023 deliveries, it received 10 commitments from Virgin and 15 from an undisclosed European airline in 2016, totalling 76 from five airlines by June 2017;
- The Spike S-512 is a self-funded twinjet design aiming to cruise at Mach 1.6 over water for 6,200 nmi (11,500 km; 7,100 mi) with 22 passengers in a windowless cabin, with unspecified 20,000 lbf (89 kN) engines. A SX-1.2-scale model should have made its maiden flight in September 2017 before a manned testbed in 2019 and the prototype in 2021, with market availability for 2023.
Model | Passengers | Cruise | Range (nmi) | MTOW |
Total Thrust | Thrust/weight |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tupolev Tu-144 | 150 | Mach 2.0 | 3,500 nmi (6,500 km) | 207 t (456,000 lb) | 960 kN (216,000 lbf) | 0.44 |
Concorde | 120 | Mach 2.02 | 3,900 nmi (7,200 km) | 185 t (408,000 lb) | 676 kN (152,000 lbf) | 0.37 |
Boom Technology Overture |
55 | Mach 1.7[55] | 4,250 nmi (7,870 km) | 77.1 t (170,000 lb) | 200–270 kN (45,000–60,000 lbf) | 0.26–0.35 |
Spike S-512 | 18 | Mach 1.6 | 6,200 nmi (11,500 km) | 52.2 t (115,000 lb) | 177.8 kN (40,000 lbf) | 0.35 |
Of the four billion air
In October 2018, the
In June 2019, inspired by the NASA quiet supersonic initiative and
Design goals are a 4,200–5,300 nmi (7,800–9,800 km) range and a 9,500–10,500 ft (2,900–3,200 m) takeoff field length, a 75-80 PLdB sonic boom and a cruise of Mach 1.6–1.7 over land and Mach 1.7-1.8 over water. Twin tail-mounted nonafterburning 40,000 lbf (180 kN) engines are located between V-tails. Integrated low-noise propulsion include advanced
In 2019, Exosonic, Inc was founded with the goal of developing a 70-passenger supersonic jet capable of flying Mach 1.8 and with a range of 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi). The company aims to introduce the jet commercially in the 2030s.[61][62] In April 2021, Exosonic was awarded a contract to develop a supersonic jet which could be used as Air Force One.[63]
In August 2020, Virgin Galactic with Rolls-Royce unveiled the concept of a Mach 3 capable twinjet delta wing aircraft that can carry up to 19 passengers.[64][65]
NASA is working with 2 teams led by Boeing and Northrop Grumman on developing concepts for a Mach 4 airliner.[66]
In April 2024, Boom received FAA licensure for Mach 1 and beyond tests of its XB-1 to be conducted at the Black Mountain Supersonic Corridor, in Mojave, California.[67]
Hypersonic transport
While conventional turbo and ramjet engines are able to remain reasonably efficient up to Mach 5.5, some ideas for very high-speed flight above Mach 6 are also sometimes discussed, with the aim of reducing travel times down to one or two hours anywhere in the world. These vehicle proposals very typically either use rocket or scramjet engines; pulse detonation engines have also been proposed. There are many difficulties with such flight, both technical and economic.
Rocket-engined vehicles, while technically practical (either as
At the June 2011 Paris Air Show, EADS unveiled its ZEHST concept, cruising at Mach 4 (4,400 km/h; 2,400 kn) at 105,000 ft (32,000 m) and attracting Japanese interest.[68] The German SpaceLiner is a suborbital hypersonic winged passenger spaceplane project under preliminary development.[when?]
STRATOFLY MR3 is an EU research program (German Aerospace Center, ONERA and universities) with the goal of developing a cryogenic fuel 300-passenger airliner capable to fly at about 10,000 km/h (Mach 8) above 30 km of altitude.[71][72]
Destinus, Hermeus, and Venus Aerospace are developing hypersonic passenger aircraft.[73][74][75][76]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/43/Boeing_hypersonic_transport_concept.jpg/330px-Boeing_hypersonic_transport_concept.jpg)
See also
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- ^ "LAPCAT II – Facts and figures". European Space Agency. November 17, 2009. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- ^ "Stratofly". July 19, 2018.
- ^ "This hypersonic airliner would take you from Los Angeles to Tokyo in under two hours". NBC News. August 23, 2019.
- ^ Tegler, Eric. "Swiss Hypersonic Startup Destinus Appears Destined For Same Path As U.S. Counterparts". Forbes. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- ^ Prisco, Jacopo (December 29, 2021). "Why a Mach 5 passenger plane is a crazy idea that might just work". CNN.
- ^ Spry, Jeff (June 28, 2022). "Venus Aerospace unveils its new dart-like Mach 9 hypersonic plane design". Space.com.
- ^ Berger, Eric (April 3, 2023). "A passenger aircraft that flies around the world at Mach 9? Sure, why not". Ars Technica.
- ^ a b Norris, Guy (June 26, 2018). "Boeing Unveils Hypersonic Airliner Concept". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
- ^ Trimble, Stephen (August 10, 2018). "Hypersonic airliner "may not be as hard as people think": Boeing CTO". Flightglobal.
External links
- "The United States SST Contenders". Flight International. February 13, 1964.
- National Research Council (1997). U.S. Supersonic Commercial Aircraft. National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0309058780.
- "Overview: Civil Engines" (extract from article on civil engine market, including discussion of SST). Jane's. August 2006. Archived from the original on August 21, 2006.
- Peter Coen (March 15–17, 2011). "Fundamental Aeronautics Program – Supersonics Project" (PDF). Project Overview. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 21, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
- "Advanced Concept Studies for Supersonic Commercial Transports Entering Service in the 2018 to 2020 Period". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. February 2013.
- Hargreaves, Steve (November 26, 2014). "Supersonic jets can fly from New York to L.A. in 2.5 hours (or less)". CNN Money.
- "The Rise & Fall of The SST". AirVectors. August 1, 2015.
- Clarke, Chris (November 24, 2015). "11 Outlandish Attempts To Build The Next Concorde". Popular Mechanics. The trials and tribulations of trying to resurrect supersonic passenger travel.
- Sun, Yicheng; Smith, Howard (December 2016). "Review and prospect of supersonic business jet design". Progress in Aerospace Sciences. 90: 12–38. hdl:1826/11307.
- Lampert, Allison; Freed, Jamie (July 12, 2018). "U.S. and Europe clash over global supersonic jet noise standards". Reuters.