Rolls Royce returns to supersonic air travel



    A new generation of supersonic aircraft can be equipped with Rolls-Royce equipment , which already has some experience in this industry thanks to the construction of engines for Concord.

    One of the engineering giants of the leading index of the British stock exchange is interested in the supply of engines for the business class aircraft Aerion , which can fly faster than the speed of sound.


    Concourse with afterburners from Rolls-Royce

    Commercial supersonic flights stopped more than 10 years ago, after the collapse of Concord. However, the American company Aeyron plans to revive. To do this, they are working on a private jet project with a maximum speed of about 1,200 miles per hour (Mach 1.6), capable of covering more than 5000 miles.

    In November, Aerion announced that they had received $ 2.4 billion from Flexjet, with which a contract was signed for the supply of 20 AC2 aircraft , the first flight of which is expected in 2021. Initially, it was planned to supply aircraft with Prat and Whitney JT8D engines . But after the redesign, in which the plane decided to make large sizes, this idea was abandoned.


    Design of AC2 aircraft with three engines

    Thanks to Concord’s legacy, as well as its experience developing engines for the Typhoon and Tornado fighters, Rolls-Royce looks like a leader in contracting with Aerion. Currently, passenger aircraft are prohibited from flying at speeds greater than 1 Mach due to the possibility of a supersonic explosion. However, Rolls-Royce note that technology will soon circumvent this limitation.


    The concord was designed long before the advent of computer modeling and without the possibility of using modern materials

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