Faster than sound: past, present and future of supersonic aviation. What the airplanes of the future look like: hypersonic speed and solar energy The future of supersonic passenger aviation

With a good source of energy, even a rock or an entire house will fly, but there are problems with this because there is little progress in the development of energy production and storage. I can also add that the American Knight Hawk stealth aircraft in general should not fly, but thanks to the on-board computer and electronics, which in real time monitors the critical flight parameters of the aircraft and does not allow and limits the transition of the aircraft to critical flight modes. Electronics did something that lifted a flying iron into the air. All these concepts are designed for new nanotechnology materials and a completely different type of engine. Who knows, maybe these techno fantasies will fly. The dream liner took off because it used carbon, carbon, plastic, carbon fiber, and fiberglass. Thanks to lithium-ion batteries, it has become possible to create a flying motorcycle or quadcopter. The main thing is a powerful and economical source of energy, and in aviation and spacecraft this is a huge problem

Source: © sites Even a rock or an entire house can fly with a good source of energy, but there are problems with this because progress in the development of energy production and storage is weak. I can also add that the American Knight Hawk stealth aircraft in general should not fly, but thanks to the on-board computer and electronics, which in real time monitors the critical flight parameters of the aircraft and does not allow and limits the transition of the aircraft to critical flight modes. Electronics did something that lifted a flying iron into the air. All these concepts are designed for new nanotechnology materials and a completely different type of engine. Who knows, maybe these techno fantasies will fly. The dream liner took off because it used carbon, carbon, plastic, carbon fiber, and fiberglass. Thanks to lithium-ion batteries, it has become possible to create a flying motorcycle or quadcopter. The main thing is a powerful and economical source of energy, and in aviation and spacecraft this is a huge problem

Source: © Fishki.net With a good source of energy, even a rock or an entire house will fly, but there are problems with this because progress in the development of energy production and storage is weak. I can also add that the American Knight Hawk stealth aircraft in general should not fly, but thanks to the on-board computer and electronics, which in real time monitors the critical flight parameters of the aircraft and does not allow and limits the transition of the aircraft to critical flight modes. Electronics did something that lifted a flying iron into the air. All these concepts are designed for new nanotechnology materials and a completely different type of engine. Who knows, maybe these techno fantasies will fly. The dream liner took off because it used carbon, carbon, plastic, carbon fiber, and fiberglass. Thanks to lithium-ion batteries, it has become possible to create a flying motorcycle or quadcopter. The main thing is a powerful and economical source of energy, and in aviation and spacecraft this is a huge problem

Boston-based Spike Aerospace has been working on a supersonic business jet for several years. The company recently announced that it will soon conduct flight tests of the new S-512 Quiet Supersonic Jet. The experiment to prove the performance of the SX-1.2 concept will primarily focus on testing the stability and controllability of the aircraft. If everything goes well, then in the future Spike Aerospace promised to conduct a number of more dynamic and spectacular flights: the aircraft, capable of carrying up to 22 passengers, accelerates to a speed of Mach 1.6 (approximately 1900 km/h).

Supersonic transport: dream or reality?

According to company president Vik Kachoria, the test drone with a rigid wing will fly out of “a place in New England,” exact coordinates which has not yet been disclosed. Spike Aerospace does not hide its interest in improving technology supersonic aircraft, but now the firm has finally announced its planned development timeline. A second, larger demonstrator aircraft has already been built, while a third is still in the design stage. Flight testing is scheduled for mid-2018, and the S-512 itself will be tested in 2021, provided that all demonstration and test flights go well and the aircraft is reliable. The first flight of a full-size transport with real passengers on board is planned for 2023.

The S-512 is a mystery aircraft, around which many incredible rumors are swarming, which have not yet been refuted or confirmed by official representatives of the company. In theory, this model would be able to fly over land at supersonic speeds, which is currently prohibited by the FAA due to noise pollution. NASA designers are working on an experimental supersonic engine that operates with much less noise and prevents the impact of sound waves on the aircraft, which makes being in it quite comfortable. But the space agency hopes to conduct the first tests by 2020 at best, and Spike Aerospace already says the S-512 engine will generate 75 dBA at ground level - meaning from the ground it will be no louder than a normal hand clap. However, engineers are in no hurry to reveal details and how exactly they plan to reduce noise levels.

Instead of portholes, there are huge screens broadcasting the surrounding landscapes in real time.

The maximum flight range of the S-512 is 10,000 km, and the flight promises to be very comfortable. Of course, supersonic aircraft do not have windows, but Multiplex Digital Cabin technology allows you to replace them with screens that can broadcast a real view outside the aircraft in HD quality, and if desired, they can be used as a regular plasma panel.

The future of supersonic aircraft

Currently, Spike Aerospace is far from the only company developing supersonic aircraft. passenger aircraft. For example, Denver-based Boom Supersonic, backed by Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic, is currently building a 1:3 scale demonstration model of a 50-passenger passenger jet capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 2.2. The model, called the XB-1, will be equipped with a two-seat cabin, and its first test flight is scheduled for 2018. Another company, Aeron Corporation, has teamed up with Airbus to create another supersonic prototype. vehicle, which will be tested in 2020.

Spike Aerospace itself has also received support from a number of manufacturers and aerospace centers around the world: Quartus Engineering in the USA, Siemens in Germany and Aernnova in Spain, to name a few. Thanks to this, unlike competitors, the British are ready to provide customers with a fully operational aircraft and establish flights by the mid-2020s. But these are only optimistic promises, and we just have to be patient and wait for practical tests.

Aviation technology has developed at an astonishing rate in recent decades. Airliners are being created that consume less fuel, and developments in this direction continue. The future of passenger aircraft is associated with even greater changes, which will affect not only the design and design, but also additional possibilities for using the devices, as well as the energy sources used.

New projects in aviation

For a long time on the world market such largest companies like Boeing and Airbus, there were no competitors. But the situation is changing, and the influence of other manufacturers on the world market is increasingly increasing. In the near future, it is planned to implement innovative projects to create passenger airliners and small private planes or helicopters.

At the same time, some aircraft designers believe that the future civil aviation associated with aircraft powered by electricity, others are engaged in the development of supersonic airliners.

Projects of future supersonic aircraft in their outlines resemble aircraft, familiar from films about star wars and works of famous science fiction writers:

Issue supersonic aircraft Aerion AS2 is planned for 2023.
NASA plans to present a prototype of the QueSST supersonic airliner, which flies almost silently, in 2020.
The Japanese Space Agency is testing the D-SEND 2 supersonic glider, a commercial model of which is planned to be built by 2030.
British engineers are working on a project called Skylon: they are testing a type of engine for an aircraft that will fly at speeds 5 times the speed of sound.

Aviation technology in the latest concepts regularly demonstrates advanced technological developments in various aspects of operation. This is not just about modernization modern models, but also a broader view of the future of the segment. Designers are focusing on the potential for development based on technologies that were considered innovative until recently. Of course, not all projects by which the aircraft of the future can be assessed will actually be implemented, but from many developments it is quite possible to get an overall idea of the trends in aviation development.

New ideas in passenger aircraft construction

Among the most realistic developments in the near future we can note the Boeing 777X. Fundamentally innovative and striking innovations are not expected, but the designers of this model promise a serious redesign of the controls and the shape of the wings. For example, the 777X will combine ailerons and flaps to minimize overall structural weight. As for the special design of the wings, it will be sectional - the length of each will be 3.5 m, and the developers will also provide the possibility of vertical lifting for parking during taxiing. Like many other passenger aircraft of the future, this airliner is planned to be converted to more efficient fuel sources. The power plant will be provided by a twin-engine complex capable of being controlled with a wingspan of about 72 m. Presumably, the aircraft will enter service in 2020.

The Japanese development of Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) is also interesting. This vessel is a jet passenger airliner for 76 seats. In addition, in 2020, the creators plan to release several modifications, one of which will be 90-seater. According to many experts, Mitsubishi will offer more safe planes future than the Brazilian company Embraer and versions of the famous Superjet. This will be achieved through an updated fuselage design and more functional on-board systems.

Trends in military aviation

Military equipment traditionally displays more technologically advanced and functionally developed models. This partly applies to aviation. It's worth starting with communications support - massive antennas, sensors and radars may appear on the surfaces of future combat aircraft, which will allow them to capture and transmit electromagnetic waves. In practice, this will provide the ability to accurately “scan” objects within a 360 degree radius, regardless of weather conditions. Nanotechnologies will also bring new opportunities. In particular, some developments will provide coatings with a thermometer function, which will alert them to damage. Already this decade, future military aircraft will most likely also receive lasers. Moreover, their use will be narrowly oriented. The first concepts are planned to be used as a means of destroying enemy missiles and air defense sensors. Microwave weapons will be used to destroy electronic devices. Special engines will be provided both to equip aircraft with lasers and for electromagnetic installations. The appearance of new bombers is also expected, but in this area the principles of destruction will remain the same, and changes will occur only in terms of design optimization.

Supersonic aircraft

This class remains one of the most promising and rich. For example, NASA plans to release a supersonic QueSST by 2020, which will be almost silent. This is an important feature, since high noise levels are to this day the main reason for the ban on supersonic aircraft for transporting passengers. With the help of new technologies, NASA plans to eliminate noise pollution during the transition to ultra-high speed. An interesting project is also supported by Virgin Galactic. This is a startup called Boom, which, according to some calculations, can reduce flight time over the Atlantic by 2.5 times compared to modern supersonic models. The fighter aircraft of the future, which in the sixth generation will switch to supersonic speed. These are distant plans for now, but it is possible that similar developments will appear on the RQ-4 and Boeing F-X UAV platforms. According to some reports, the latest modifications will be able to achieve hypersonic speeds of 6 thousand km/h. But, again, operation of the sixth generation models will begin no earlier than 2050.

Flying cars

Cinematic images of flying personal cars seem like distant fantasy even today. Nevertheless, the Terrafugia company expects, if not to implement this concept in the near future, then to bring it closer. Not so long ago, the company's developers already presented a private car aircraft, but with one caveat - it was more of an airplane, since it required a runway with a flat surface 500 m long. And this is not to mention the difficulties of control, which only a professional could cope with pilot. However, in new versions, future aircraft from Terrafugia should at least get rid of the need to use runway. This achievement has already been demonstrated by the latest modification TF-X, capable of reaching about 350 km/h. The flight range is 805 km.

Hybrid aircraft

The ideas of environmentally friendly and energy-efficient power have long been applied in traditional cars. It is quite logical that aircraft designers began to master them. In particular, engineers from Boeing have created a conceptual model of SUGAR, which should provide airlines with up to 70% savings compared to devices running on conventional fuel. Such a high percentage of energy savings was made possible thanks to electric batteries. While waiting for passengers, SUGAR will be simultaneously filled with traditional fuel and charged from the airport's energy terminal. Conventional fuel materials are intended only for take-off, and the flight itself is carried out by electric motors. And this is not the only development of this type. Today, future aircraft designs are designed with the possibility of a complete transition to electricity. The most ambitious ideas also concern the accumulation of solar energy, which could make energy supply 100% free.

Innovation in the private sector

Very original developments are also appearing on the private jet market. Thus, the Bombardier Global 8000 model is a business jet designed for 8 seats. It promises to set a record for flying without refueling over a distance of about 15,000 km. The speed will be 950 km/h. Also interesting is the seemingly unusual SkiGull model, which is called an amphibious aircraft. The name is due to the ability of the device to land on the water surface. This new development, but in the near future it will become available to everyone who wants to purchase it. Icon specialists also offer combined aircraft of the future for private users. The A5 model represents a two-seat seaplane option that not only allows you to land and take off from the surface of the water, but is also capable of recovering from a spin and, if necessary, ejecting the pilot with a parachute.

Space air travel

The already mentioned company Virgin Galactic is also engaged in tourism in the form of space flights. But in the future, as its representatives note, technology will allow ordinary users of aircraft to perform suborbital flights from one point on the planet to another. That is, there is no talk of flights to the far corners of space, but entering orbit by overcoming the atmospheric layer is possible. Today, an example of the implementation of this idea is the devices of the Space Ship Two family. Such aircraft of the future will be able to rise to a height of more than 15 km and deliver passengers to different parts of the Earth with minimal time.

The future of the Russian aircraft industry

The domestic aircraft industry was in a state of crisis for a long time and only recent years Serious attempts were made to radically change the situation. The prospects for the development of the Russian segment of the industry are associated with two fairly successful developments. Firstly, this is the Sukhoi Superjet SSJ 100, which shows decent technical and operational performance, opening up new opportunities for further advancement of the project. For example, in 2019 it is planned to release a modification with 120 seats. Secondly, Russia’s future aircraft based on the MS-21 also inspire great hope for the development of the complex. This platform should be released in 2020. This is a short-medium-haul airliner, power point which is created entirely using domestic components.

Conclusion

Perhaps the key trend in the development of the industry can be called the elimination of operational restrictions for aircraft of various classes. Moreover, this applies not only to technical indicators, but also to niche barriers. For example, the famous line “airplanes come first” ceases to be relevant. A fighter from the future, a cargo liner, or a passenger ship may well get the appearance of a helicopter. In some segments, promising helicopter models are successfully replacing traditional aircraft. It is possible that this trend will continue in the future. In particular, the Bell 525 family promises to be the first helicopters with a fly-by-wire control system, which minimizes the workload on the crew. And Airbus's Helicopters concepts are set to set records in terms of payload capacity. According to the manufacturer, by 2020 such models will be able to transport loads of up to 10 tons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, watching the first flight of the new Tu-160 bomber in Kazan, invited aircraft manufacturers to think about creating a supersonic passenger plane. The iz.ru portal recalls the history of such aircraft, which were already in operation in the USSR, France and Great Britain.

The future belongs to aviation, to combat aviation, in order to ensure the country's defense capability, and to civil aviation too. But we, as we have just discussed, need to think about the civilian version of such aircraft. With such a huge territory as ours, the flight from Moscow to New York is not much longer than to Vladivostok. Therefore, I am sure that this will be in demand,” said the head of state, commenting on the resumption of serial production of the Tu-160 bomber at Kazansky
aircraft factory.

The first thing to note is that discussing the proposed proposal straightforwardly, in the option of creating a supersonic passenger aircraft directly on the basis of a multi-mode missile-carrying bomber with variable wing geometry, is a rather difficult task. This is not only an expensive solution due to the complexity of the design that is unreasonable in civil aviation. The cruising speed of the Tu-160 is subsonic - 850 km/h, which, by the way, is 30–60 km/h lower than that of conventional modern wide-body aircraft, which casts doubt on even such a narrow hypothetical niche as a business jet for billionaires. Let us also recall that the cruising speed of both supersonic aircraft that were in commercial operation (Tu-144 and Concorde) exceeded Mach 2 and was about 2200 km/h.

“Of course, we are not talking about creating an aircraft based on the Tu-160. Several projects are currently being developed around the world supersonic business jets, some of them were studied with the participation of Russian research centers,” Vedomosti quotes a top manager of one of the aviation industry enterprises in this regard.

The issue of resuming the program of a fundamentally new supersonic passenger aircraft is an independent complex topic for discussion by specialists in the design and operation of aircraft. In the event that a sufficiently capacious market niche is found for the aircraft, which covers the costs of its creation and maintenance costs, the issue will move to the second stage, namely, the search in Russia for a design team capable of solving the problem.

On at the moment The country is implementing two programs of fundamentally new aircraft (Superjet and MC-21), and the industry is also integrating into the Chinese project of the CR929 wide-body airliner. In fact, they are all built around Sukhoi Civil Aircraft and Irkut (Engineering Center named after A.S. Yakovlev), which, as part of the proposed model for reforming the United Aircraft Corporation, will be merged into a centralized company dealing with commercial aircraft.

In the meantime, let's try to remember how the fate of previous supersonic airliners turned out.

First–second

The design of supersonic passenger aircraft in the world began in the late 1950s. The Soviet Union, concentrating its resources, made the car first - in just five years that passed from the moment the decision to begin development until the first flight, which took place “under the Christmas tree” on December 31, 1968.

The machine was extremely innovative for the domestic aviation industry (especially the civilian one); a lot of innovations were introduced into it. Here is the front one that retracts into the fuselage horizontal tail(used during takeoff and landing), and a raised nose that covered the glazing of the pilot's cabin at high speed, and interesting examples of on-board equipment.

The aircraft was actively promoted to foreign markets, but it was never released abroad. The plane crash in June 1973 during a demonstration flight at the Le Bourget air show also gave the car bad publicity.

I had to look for a place for her only within the USSR. However, even with new engines (in the Tu-144D version), the machine, which according to the technical specifications was designed for non-stop flight Moscow-Khabarovsk, could carry it out only with a minimum load.

As a result, passenger service on this route never began, and two aircraft were transferred to the Moscow-Alma-Ata line. The cost of a ticket for the flight was 82 rubles. For comparison: a flight on a subsonic car on the same route cost 62 rubles, and for a similar price (83 rubles) you could fly by regular plane from Moscow to Irkutsk.

Passenger flights of the Tu-144 were conducted only from November 1977 to May 1978. Aeroflot tried with all its might to get rid of an expensive and capricious car that did not completely meet its requirements.

Taking advantage of the crash of an experimental Tu-144D aircraft that occurred near Yegoryevsk on May 23, 1978, regular supersonic passenger traffic in the USSR was stopped in favor of the Il-62. For some time they were used for urgent delivery of small cargo to Far East. The Tu-144 program was finally closed in 1983 after the launch of the first domestic IL-86 wide-body aircraft into serial production.

No agreement

The Tu-144 became the first passenger supersonic aircraft to take off, but the British-French Concorde, whose first flight took place in March 1969, entered commercial operation earlier. Since the development was a joint Franco-British one (Concorde translates as “consent”), the car was received by British Airways and Air France (seven units each).

Concorde performed its first flights in January 1976, these were the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio de Janeiro routes (with an intermediate stop in Dakar). Subsequently, the plane was used for flights to the USA: to Dulles Airport (in the suburbs of Washington), but mainly to New York. Planes also flew from London to Barbados, Toronto, Miami and Singapore, and from Paris to New York, Mexico City, and Caracas.

The planes were expensive and could not compete with the economical transatlantic “heavy-lift” aircraft, such as the Boeing 747. The Concorde actually crossed the Atlantic in half the time: 3.5 hours instead of 7. But it consumed twice as much fuel as the 747s (and three times as much as the newer ones). Boeing 777), at the same time, had four times less passenger capacity and required special maintenance, which, moreover, could not be saved due to the small number of aircraft in the series.

As a result, the key indicator - fuel consumption per 100 km of flight in terms of one passenger - reached 17 liters, with a similar indicator for wide-body competitors ranging from 2.5–3.5. Even the optimistic design figure for the total operating cost per passenger back in 1972 was estimated to be twice as high as that of the 747s of its day.

Spare parts were also produced in small series, almost to order, and incurred incredible overhead costs for the operator. At the same time, the plane did not carry side cargo (except for very small ones), which further reduced the opportunity to earn money on a transatlantic flight.

An expensive, stylish car, a symbol of a bygone era, was maintained only by high prices for tickets. The widely held opinion about unprofitability is incorrect: it brought operating profit because there were enough people with a lot of money to pay for a status flight. Cars on the New York–London main line departed with an average of 70–80 passengers on board out of 100 seats, and the flight paid for itself with only 35 tickets sold.

At the end of the operating period, the press wrote that British Airways extracted up to $30–50 million a year from its Concordes, Air France much less - up to $3 million. The main difficulties of the companies were that they spent enormous effort on maintaining a fleet that Moreover, they received it partially through government support. The British received two of their seven aircraft for the symbolic price of 1 pound, and the French took three for 1 franc each.

In addition, until the mid-1980s, governments heavily subsidized airlines, financing up to 80% of their operating costs. There were no prospects for expanding the business; the aircraft remained a narrow niche offer for very rich people, an element of prestigious consumption.

In the spring of 2003, both airlines made a joint decision to stop using the aircraft; the last flights took place in November of the same year. The 2000 disaster near Paris, where a French Concorde with 109 passengers and crew members crashed, dealt a strong blow to supersonic vehicles. The reasons also included the general crisis in the air transportation market after September 11, 2001 and the rising cost of service. In addition, the machines continued to fly in the technical form of the late 1970s, and the project to modernize their on-board equipment (in particular, cockpit electronics) required significant money and efforts to organize the production of small batches of products.

As a result, airlines decided that they would make more profit from the business classes of conventional airliners.

Konstantin Bogdanov

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