Passenger air travel, despite the fact that are already one of the fastest modes of transport have a great potential for growth. For example, in military aviation, a long time to go supersonic aircraft, while passenger planes still can’t boast the same speeds. And not so long ago the company Spike Aerospace has experienced the first type of unmanned supersonic passenger aircraft of a new type, which worked for a few years.
Future passenger aircraft will be called the S-512, while the “intermediate” version called the SX-1.2. The aircraft made a successful take off on runway private airfield in New England and was controlled remotely by two pilots. In the tests, the aircraft made seven short flights that allowed us to collect all the necessary information. During the flights, special sensors placed in critical areas of the aircraft, made the collection and transmission of information about the behavior of the aircraft in the air. Estimated speed, balance, aircraft center of gravity, information about loads on structures during different maneuvers. As representatives of the Spike Aerospace
“The first test flights gave us a lot of incredibly valuable information that we will use for further improvement of the aircraft structure. The collected data already allow us to start work on the production of a full-scale version of the plane S-512. Testing SX-1.2 was carried out in real conditions, provided a more higher quality data than can provide testing in a wind tunnel”.
With regard to the characteristics of a supersonic aircraft, according to the authors, it will be able to carry 22 passengers and 5 crew members at a distance of 10 thousand kilometers. But because of the unique design of the fuselage and the wing, the plane produces virtually no noise when breaking the sound barrier. The stated speed is 1.6 Mach. Another interesting feature is that the aircraft will not have Windows. Instead, they will feature high-quality displays. First flight ready plane S-512 is to be held in 2021, and a mass exit on the market — in 2023.
Unique supersonic passenger airliner SX-1.2 first took to the air
Vladimir Kuznetsov