A Texas billionaire is trying to build this supersonic private jet

The typical flight time from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia is about 15 hours and 30 minutes. 

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On the Aerion AS2, a supersonic private jet currently in development, it would be just ten hours.

Aerion said on Monday that it plans to have the AS2, a business jet that will be able to fly Mach 1.5, faster than the speed of sound, ready for flight by 2021, and approved for sale just two years later.

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Aerion's AS2 supersonic business jet.
Aerion

The Concorde was retired in 2003, so no passenger airplane currently flies the speed of sound.

 

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The AS2 will have a maximum speed of Mach 1.5, which is 1,150 miles per hour.

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Aerion
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It could get you from London to New York in 4 hours and 24 minutes. It takes a normal jet about seven hours to make that trip.

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Aerion

 

 

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It will have a supersonic range of 4,750 nautical miles, meaning it could fly from San Francisco to London at the speed of sound.

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Aerion

Aerion says that at Mach 1.4, passengers can shed three hours on a trans-Atlantic flight or six hours on longer flights over the Pacific ocean. 

 

 

Flying at subsonic speeds — Mach 0.95 — it will have a range of 5,300 nautical miles.

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Aerion

It could fly from San Francisco to Moscow without refueling.

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It would only be allowed to fly above the speed of sound over water and "other areas where supersonic flight is permitted."

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Aerion

But Aerion says that it can achieve what it calls "Boomless Cruise" in certain atmospheric conditions. This would allow it to fly at supersonic speeds without producing a sonic boom on the ground because the shock waves would "dissipate before reaching the ground."

Regulations prevent airplanes from operating at supersonic speeds over the US, but Aerion thinks that "Boomless Cruise" could prompt countries to change regulations.

 

The AS2 is powered by three jet engines.

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Aerion
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PRNewsFoto/Aerion Corporation

The chairman of Aerion is Robert Bass, a Texas private equity investor with a net worth of $2.7 billion, according to Forbes.

The cabin of the AS2 can be configured to seat between 8 and 12 passengers.

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Aerion
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Aerion says that the cabin's "furnishings and appointments will be dictated by the customer and will be unsurpassed in their quality, craftsmanship, and beauty."

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Aerion

"Whatever you select, we commit to crafting a cabin that represents the work of the industry’s finest artisans," Aerion says.

Sounds nice!

Here's another interior configuration.

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Aerion
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Aerion says the AS2 will be able to take off from and land at most business airports.

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Aerion

The AS2 has a short wingspan but a long body.

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Aerion

According to Aerion, the "wing vastly reduces friction drag and the Aerion fuselage minimizes wave drag."

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Its wingspan is 61 feet. Its length is 170 feet.

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Aerion

Aerion is working with Airbus to manufacture the AS2.

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Aerion

The AS2 will be engineered and built by both Aerion and Airbus Group, the French aerospace manufacturer. According to press materials, Aerion will provide software and design and Airbus will handle the "engineering, procurement and supply chain management, logistics planning, program management, and government relations."

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The body will be made most of carbon fiber.

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Aerion

Supersonic speed comes at a cost, of course: The AS2 will set you back $120 million.

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Aerion

That's in 2015 dollars, though, so expect that price to go up when it's out in 2023.

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