Confirms Viability of its SBJ Design

One year after its public unveiling, Aerion has completed its Phase 1 design program, arriving at an aircraft configuration whose technical viability has been confirmed through extensive wind tunnel testing and computer analysis. Aerion has also completed a wide-ranging market study confirming demand for this design. The business and engineering objectives announced last year have been validated.

"We are keeping to an aggressive timeline moving toward routine supersonic business jet travel," said Aerion Vice Chairman Brian Barents. "The major questions about the technical feasibility of this objective have been answered and we are now able to present to potential partners a design that is well researched and quite achievable."

The Aerion SBJ design presented last year was already the product of years of preliminary design by Aerion and predecessor companies. Since then, Aerion has further analyzed performance, stability, noise, cockpit visibility and other requirements to ensure a certifiable design. In the process, the shape of wings, fuselage, strakes, nacelles and empennage have been refined and tested. Aerion expects little to change at this point in terms of external configuration.

Earlier this year, Aerion completed proprietary market research with the operators of more than 1,100 global-class business jets. The study, which included a survey of more than 100 executive and flight department decision makers, confirms demand for 250-300 Aerion SBJ aircraft in the first ten years of production.

Among the design changes in the past year:

• The cockpit floor has been elevated, the windshield angle changed and the nose shape slightly altered in order to ensure the Aerion SBJ meets FAA guidelines for pilot visibility. No artificial vision systems or mechanical nose droop systems will be required to ensure good visibility on approach or during ground operations.
• The nose gear has been moved farther aft so that it is positioned under the cockpit floor. Turning radius has been reduced to less than 75 feet for improved maneuvering on ramps and taxiways.
• Fuselage shape has been refined, with a vertical oval cross section in the forward cabin area expanding to a circular constant cross section in the cabin seating area. The tapered cross section provides the optimum combination of good high-speed aerodynamics and super-midsize cabin comfort.
• A flat floor will run throughout the cabin from cockpit to rear pressure bulkhead. Aisle height in the constant cross section area has been reduced from 6.3 to 6 feet to increase floor width to 4.4 feet. Cabin width remains 6.6 feet. Cabin length is 30 feet, allowing for up to three seating areas, plus galley and lavatory.
• Maximum takeoff weight has remained at or below 90,000 pounds, while wing area has been reduced from 1,400 square feet to 1,200 square feet. Balanced field length remains less than 6,000 feet.
• Wing geometry has changed slightly. In addition to the reduction of area, aspect ratio has increased from 3.0 to 3.3. Tip chord has increased and raked tips have been added. The root chord has decreased and the leading edge sweep reduced locally at the intersection with the strake.
• Trailing edge flaps will serve as flaperons for roll control, and have been improved with the addition of split flaps to further enhance low speed capability and reduce deck angle on approach.
• Leading edge strakes have been modified to provide improved low-speed stall characteristics while maintaining both low-speed and supersonic drag levels.
• Nacelle design has undergone significant refinement. The earlier rectangular inlet shape has changed to a nearly circular, highly efficient inlet.
• The horizontal tail has been changed from a T-tail to a conventional vertical and low-mounted cruciform tail configuration. These changes provide improved stall characteristics and increased tail power for stall prevention and recovery.
• The Aerion SBJ will have a fly-by-wire flight control system to reduce weight, complexity and maintenance. It will employ mild stability augmentation to enhance stability and handling characteristics across the aircraft's broad speed range.

The Aerion SBJ has excellent efficiency just below Mach 1, presently the legal maximum for flight over the U.S. and thus can cruise at higher speeds than subsonic jets. Elsewhere in the world, no-boom flight over populated areas is permitted. Studies show that the cruise speeds near Mach 1.15 avoid any perceptible boom at ground level. Unrestricted speeds are permitted over designated routes in many sparsely populated regions such as Northern Canada, Siberia and Australia. At supersonic cruise speed, the Aerion SBJ's sonic boom characteristics are relatively mild because of the aircraft's low weight.

"As we move into serious discussions with potential partners, the test results to date give us great confidence that the Aerion SBJ is an achievable dream," commented Chairman Robert Bass.

"Indeed, both the technical case and the business case are quite compelling."

FMI: www.aerioncorp.com