Passenger aircraft of the future. Aviation of the future: passenger drones, supersonics and biodesign
The founder of Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson, announced his readiness to launch a dozen into the sky, the era of which, according to the businessman, is returning. Previously about the development of supersonic passenger aviation NASA said. Despite the many years of “pausing” the mass production of supersonic aircraft, this topic continued to be discussed and designers did not stop working on projects.
Screemr
When it comes to the future of travel, passengers' top priority is getting to their destination as quickly as possible. Speed is precisely the concept behind the Screemr supersonic passenger airliner project, presented in 2015 by Canadian engineer Charles Bombardier and designer Ray Mattison. The name of the founder of Bombardier is quite well known. As for his partner, designer Ray Mattison has already worked at Cirrus Aircraft and Exodus Machines, and he also owns the concept of a hybrid aircraft with a motorcycle “Icarus” (Icarus wingless aircraft).
The Screemr plane must travel 10 times the speed of sound and fly from London to New York, for example, in just half an hour. According to the authors of the project, Screemr will be launched using an electromagnetic gun and fly on a liquid rocket engine (kerosene or liquid oxygen). As a result, it should accelerate to 12.4 thousand km/h. It is assumed that the Screemr cabin will be able to accommodate up to 75 passengers, in addition, such an aircraft is expected to operate transcontinental flights.
Lapcat
Lapcat was developed by designers from Reaction Engines and was financially supported by British aerospace company BAE Systems. According to the developers, the Lapcat should reach speeds of up to Mach 5, that is, about 6 thousand km/h, which is two and a half times the speed of the Concorde. Thus, it will be possible to fly, say, from London to Sydney in just four hours (flight time on a regular plane will be 20 hours). The aircraft is supposed to use the Yatagan conceptual engine, which exploits the thermodynamic properties of liquid hydrogen.
"Concord 2"
The project of the supersonic passenger airliner Concorde 2, capable of flying at a speed of Mach 4.5, was presented a year ago by an aircraft manufacturer Airbus company. A plane should fly from London to New York in just an hour, and from Tokyo to Los Angeles in three hours. According to the developers, Concorde 2 takes off vertically and flies along specially designated air corridors at an altitude of approximately 30.5 km. The YouTube channel even posted a video schematically demonstrating the aircraft's capabilities. It was described as "the tallest roller coaster with steep ascents and descents and high speeds."
The patent obtained by Airbus describes three different types of engine: ramjet, twin turbojet and rocket. It is planned that they will be used at different stages of the aircraft’s journey to its destination. At the same time, according to the engineers, unlike the first Concorde, the sonic boom (a classic obstacle to the development of supersonic air transport) in Concorde 2 will be quieter. It is true that the number of passengers that the new plane can carry on board is limited to only two dozen, which means that the flight will be very expensive.
Antipode
This is another concept presented by the restless Charles Bombardier at the end of January of this year. If earlier supersonic projects limited themselves to the framework of reality, then specifications look absolutely fantastic. Its maximum speed is Mach 24, which is 12 times the speed of the Concorde. Therefore, a New Yorker can fly on such a plane to London in 11 minutes, to Shanghai in 24 minutes, and to Sydney in 32 minutes. Almost teleportation.
Engineer Joseph Haseltine, who was involved in the Bombardier project, proposed using an innovative aerodynamic phenomenon called “long penetration mode” (LPM): special nozzles on the nose of the aircraft draw in air, cooling the airframe with it. This would solve the problem of the aircraft overheating at this speed. Antipode will be able to take off from any airfield using reusable booster rockets. They are attached to the wings of the aircraft and, when it gains the required speed and altitude, they are dropped and returned back to base. A serious disadvantage of the project is the capacity of the aircraft - the cabin is designed for only 10 passengers. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to use it on expensive business trips or as a military aircraft.
Projects of supersonic aircraft of the future
Already more than a year(he departed on March 9, 2015) "completes" trip around the world, one might think that the development of passenger aviation has stopped or is even going in the opposite direction. Of course, Solar Impulse 2 is not the future of aviation, but modern aircraft slower than supersonic Concords flying 30 years ago. New aircraft models generally differ from old ones only in greater fuel efficiency. Airbus is not even going to develop a new aircraft for the 2020s. However, everything is not so hopeless. The most promising projects in aeronautics are described below, demonstrating that the development of aviation is still ongoing.
Electric airplanes
Airbus-E-FanAirbus is testing a small but all-electric aircraft, the Airbus-E-Fan. The latest achievement of the aircraft is the flight across the English Channel. So far, this model cannot be used for any long flights, even by one person.
But many aircraft manufacturers have no doubt that electric aviation is the future. To begin with, it is planned, as in cars, to make a hybrid engine. Airbus intends to test a “more electric aircraft” as part of the DISPURSAL project in 2022. The contribution of the electric fan motor to the total thrust should be 23%.
NASA in 2016 announced the start of development of the X-57 Maxwell aircraft equipped with 14 electric engines. It will be a small four-seater aircraft. According to engineers, the introduction of electric motors will significantly reduce operating costs. The agency does not say when the aircraft will be created.
German startup Lilium Aviation has received funding to create an electric private jet that can take off and land without an airport. The plane will need only 225 meters to take off and land. The company has already created a prototype and plans to introduce a full-size version at the end of 2018.
Supersonic aircraft
Aerion AS2
The Aerion AS2 is the first supersonic aircraft from Airbus in a very long time. This is a private jet designed for 12 passengers. $4 billion will be invested in its development, and release is planned by 2023.
In early March, NASA announced the development of an almost silent supersonic aircraft, QueSST. The main reason for banning supersonic passenger aircraft(in addition to fuel economy) there was too much noise when going to supersonic speed. NASA has developed methods to get rid of the noise and expects to build a prototype around 2020.
Aviation startup Boom, backed by Virgin Galactic, is working on a supersonic plane. The startup plans to use the new aircraft to fly over the Atlantic 2.5 times faster than conventional aircraft. The $2 billion investment should allow the company to build a prototype by the end of 2017.
According to its creators, the Skylon aircraft will be able to reach any point in 4 hours at a speed 5 times faster than the speed of sound. To create it, British engineers are testing a new type of engine. They announced the first tests for 2019. However, this project, despite an investment of 60 million euros from the British government, is the most long-term and difficult to implement of all
New passenger aircraft
The largest aircraft manufacturers believe that aeronautics is already a miracle and, although a new aircraft appears every 5-10 years, there is no need for any breakthrough improvements. More details in the table.Airplane table
| Boeing 737 MAX
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The Boeing 737 MAX has already received 2,500 orders and could become the market leader. Its claimed superiority over the existing leader, the Airbus A320neo, is that it consumes 4% less fuel. The first deliveries to customers will begin in 2017. | ||||||||
| MS-21
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The new Russian MS-21 aircraft will have a completely Russian engine. Putin stated that it would be in no way inferior to its foreign counterparts. Rogozin told reporters that mass production will begin in 2020. | ||||||||
| Mitsubishi Regional Jet
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Japan will build the first modern passenger jet airliner in its history. It is small and does not pretend to be anything. Planned start of operation in 2018. | ||||||||
| Comac C919
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Here's the first Chinese one in a long time passenger airliner The Comac C919 is set to break the Boeing-Airbus duopoly in the market. True, so far there are 500 orders for it, mainly from Chinese carriers. Release date: 2018. | ||||||||
| E2
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The Brazilian company Embraer is not even going to create a new airliner, but is simply modernizing the current model and calling it the second generation. New engines and better fuel economy are expected. Nevertheless, contracts have already been concluded for more than 300 deliveries of these aircraft. Deliveries to customers - since 2018. | ||||||||
| SSJ 100SV (Stretched Version)
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The extended Sukhoi Superjet will have up to 120 seats and will be released in 2019. In other characteristics, it will be almost like the current superjet and will probably be inferior to the Boing 737 MAX, and in 2020 the Boing 777X will also be released... in general, the main thing is that it will fly and will be extended, Aeroflot their will purchase. | ||||||||
| Bombardier Cseries
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The aircraft of the Canadian company Bombardier exceeded expectations. The manufacturer promises that the aircraft will consume 10% less fuel than the Boeing 737 MAX and MC-21. Commissioning is expected in 2016.
The champion in terms of minor improvements will be the new Boeing 777X, scheduled for release in 2020. It will have a 5% stronger engine, 12% lower fuel costs and CO2 emissions, 17 tons more payload and 18% more seats.
The Bombardier Global 8000 business jet for 8 passengers will be able to fly a record 14,600 kilometers without refueling. average speed 956 km/h. The company plans to begin sales in 2019 at a price of approximately $65 million. The aircraft will also compete with the Gulfstream G600 - new business jets also going on sale in 2018-2020. The planes will cost from $35 million to $55 million.
The new Cobalt Co50 Valkyrie private jet is cheaper than the competition ($600K) and the fastest in its class, but its main design innovation is that it looks exactly like Bruce Wayne's plane. It can carry up to 5 passengers at a time. Release date: mid-2017.
The SkiGull private amphibious aircraft will be able to land not only on water, but on any surface (grass, snow, ice). It made its first flight in November 2015 and will go on sale soon
Another seaplane, the two-seater Icon A5, is capable of taking off from and landing on water, can also recover from a spin, and is equipped with a parachute for the entire aircraft. It is recognized as so safe that you don’t even need a pilot’s license to be allowed to fly, just 20 hours of practice. It costs $250,000 and is already in production. The first 7 aircraft were assembled in 2016, but 1,850 orders have already been made for the aircraft.
The Cirrus Vision SF50 business jet may be the first mass-produced personal jet. It will be capable of carrying up to 7 passengers and should be significantly easier to operate than a conventional private jet. It will also have a parachute for the entire aircraft. 4 prototypes were built and the first aircraft was delivered to the customer in June 2016. In total, more than 600 of these machines have already been ordered at a price of $2 million.
The British single-seat e-Go is unique with its low price of just $70,000. Cheaper than many cars. The first buyer received the aircraft in June 2016.
At the other end of the price spectrum is the $3 million Epic E1000 six-seat private jet. The aircraft will be capable of flying at class-record speeds of up to 600 km/h over a distance of more than 3,000 kilometers and can climb to altitudes of up to 10 km. The prototype of the aircraft is currently undergoing testing, but more than 60 orders have already been placed for it. VTOLSince the advent of the helicopter, people have wanted to create vehicle, which will be as fast as an airplane, but can fly and land anywhere like a helicopter. This vehicle even received the working name VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) or simply an airplane with vertical take-off. The persistent but unsuccessful attempts to create this device are captured in the infographic “wheel of misfortune”.
The VTOL must be “capable of everything a bird can do in the air” and fly at least 3 times faster than a conventional helicopter
Formally, the Italian company AgustaWestland came closest to creating a VTOL transport with the AW609 tiltrotor. It is indeed capable of landing vertically and flying further than conventional helicopters, but in speed (509 km/h) it is still significantly inferior to airplanes. So far, tiltrotors have been produced only for the needs of the American military. But the AW609 will be a civilian transport for businessmen and the oil industry. Certification is expected in 2017 and 70 orders have already been received.
DARPA has announced a competition to finally create a vertical take-off aircraft () and 4 large corporations (Boeing, Aurora Flight Sciences Corp, Sikorsky Aircraft Co and Karem Aircraft) will present their full-size prototypes for testing in February 2017.
Another attempt is an electric VTOL from the startup Joby Aviation. The company says it will cost $200,000 apiece, but doesn't give a release date.
An alternative to creating a VTOL is to simply increase the speed of the helicopter. This is what Sikorsky aircraft achieves. Their new S-97 Raider helicopter is capable of flying at speeds of up to 450 km/h. The first test flight was made in May 2015. Initially, only the military will be able to use this model. Helicopters also have not stopped developing (especially military ones, but we are not talking about them here). Promising models in development are described in the table below: Helicopter table
Bottom lineTo summarize, we can note at least 3 trends in the development of aviation. Developments of electric aircraft, the return of supersonic and the creation of a hybrid aircraft-helicopter (VTOL). The implementation of at least one of these developments will be a big breakthrough for the industry. In addition to these revolutionary changes, airplanes and helicopters are gradually improving with the release of new models (more fuel efficiency, more composite materials, cheaper operation, more automation, etc.),Tags: Add tags |
“Turn on supersonic!”
Supersonic passenger aircraft - what do we know about them? At least that they were created relatively long ago. But, for various reasons, they were not used for as long and not as often as they could have. And today, they exist only as design models.
Why is that? What is the peculiarity and “secret” of supersonic sound? Who created this technology? And also - what will be the future of supersonic aircraft in the world, and of course - in Russia? We will try to answer all these questions.
"Farewell flight"
So, fifteen years have passed since the last three functioning supersonic passenger aircraft made their last flights, after which they were written off. This was back in 2003. Then, on October 24, they all together “said goodbye to the sky.” The last time we flew at low altitude, over the capital of Great Britain.
Then we landed at London Heathrow Airport. These were Concorde-type aircraft owned by the aviation company British Airways. And with such a “farewell flight” they ended a very short story passenger transportation, at speeds exceeding sound...
That's what you might have thought a few years ago. But now it is already possible to say with confidence. This is the finale of only the first stage of this story. And probably all its bright pages are yet to come.
Today - preparation, tomorrow - flight
Today, many companies and aircraft designers are thinking about the prospects of supersonic passenger aviation. Some are making plans to revive it. Others are already preparing for this with all their might.
After all, if it could exist and function effectively just a few decades ago, today, with technologies that have seriously stepped forward, it is quite possible not only to revive it, but also to solve a number of problems that forced leading airlines to abandon it.
And the prospects are too tempting. The possibility of flying, say, from London to Tokyo in five hours seems very interesting. Cross the distance from Sydney to Los Angeles in six hours? And get from Paris to New York in three and a half? With passenger aircraft, which are capable of flying at higher speeds than sound travels, this is not at all difficult.
But, of course, before the triumphant “return” of such air space, - scientists, engineers, designers, and many others - still have a lot of work to do. It's not just about restoring what once was by offering a new model. Not at all.
The goal is to solve many problems associated with passenger supersonic aviation. Creation of aircraft that will not only demonstrate the capabilities and power of the countries that built them. But they will also turn out to be really effective. So much so that they occupy a worthy niche in aviation.
History of "supersonic" Part 1. What happened in the beginning...
Where did it all begin? In fact - from simple passenger aviation. And he has been like this for more than a century. Its design began in the 1910s in Europe. When craftsmen from the most developed countries of the world created the first aircraft, the main purpose of which was to transport passengers over various distances. That is, a flight with many people on board.
The first among them is the French Bleriot XXIV Limousine. It belonged to the aircraft manufacturing company Bleriot Aeronautique. However, it was used mainly for the amusement of those who paid for pleasure “walks”-flights on it. Two years after its creation, an analogue appears in Russia.
It was the S-21 Grand. It was designed on the basis of the Russian Knight, a heavy bomber created by Igor Sikorsky. And the construction of this passenger aircraft was carried out by workers of the Baltic Carriage Plant.
Well, after that, progress could no longer be stopped. Aviation developed rapidly. And the passenger one, in particular. At first there were flights between specific cities. Then the planes were able to cover distances between states. Finally, aircraft began to cross oceans and fly from one continent to another.
Developing technologies and an increasing number of innovations allowed aviation to travel very quickly. Much sooner than trains or ships. And for her there were practically no barriers. There was no need to change from one transport to another, not only, say, when traveling to some particularly distant “end of the world”.
Even when it is necessary to cross land and water at once. Nothing stopped the planes. And this is natural, because they fly over everything - continents, oceans, countries...
But time was passing quickly, the world was changing. Of course, the aviation industry also developed. Airplanes over the next few decades, right up to the 1950s, changed so much when compared with those that flew back in the early 1920s and 30s that they became something completely different, special.
And so, in the middle of the twentieth century, the development of the jet engine began at a very rapid pace, even in comparison with the previous twenty to thirty years.
A small informational digression. Or - a little physics
Advanced developments have allowed aircraft to “accelerate” to speeds greater than the speed at which sound travels. Of course, first of all, this was applied in military aviation. After all, we are talking about the twentieth century. Which, sad to say, was a century of conflicts, two world wars, the “cold” struggle between the USSR and the USA...
And almost every new technology created by the leading states of the world was primarily considered from the point of view of how it could be used in defense or attack.
So, airplanes could now fly at unprecedented speeds. Faster than sound. What is its specificity?
First of all, it is obvious that this is a speed that exceeds the speed at which sound travels. But, remembering the basic laws of physics, we can say that in different conditions, it may differ. And “exceeds” is a very loose concept.
And that’s why there is a special standard. Supersonic speed is one that exceeds sound speed up to five times, taking into account the fact that depending on temperature and other factors environment, it may change.
For example, if we take normal atmospheric pressure at sea level, then in this case, the speed of sound will be equal to an impressive figure - 1191 km/h. That is, 331 meters are covered in a second.
But what is especially important when designing supersonic aircraft is that as you gain altitude, the temperature decreases. This means the speed with which sound travels is quite significant.
So let's say, if you rise to a height of 20 thousand meters, then here it will already be 295 meters per second. But there is another important point.
At 25 thousand meters above sea level, the temperature begins to rise, since this is no longer the lower layer of the atmosphere. And so it goes on. Or rather, higher. Let's say at an altitude of 50,000 meters it will be even hotter. Consequently, the speed of sound there increases even more.
I wonder - for how long? Having risen 30 kilometers above sea level, you find yourself in a “zone” where sound travels at a speed of 318 meters per second. And at 50,000 meters, respectively - 330 m/s.
About the Mach number
By the way, it is interesting that to simplify the understanding of the features of flight and work in such conditions, the Mach number is used in aviation. A general description of this can be reduced to the following conclusions. It expresses the speed of sound that occurs under given conditions, at a particular altitude, at a given temperature and air density.
For example, the flight speed, which is equal to two Mach numbers, at an altitude of ten kilometers above the ground, under normal conditions, will be equal to 2,157 km/h. And at sea level - 2,383 km/h.
History of "supersonic" Part 2. Overcoming barriers
By the way, for the first time a pilot from the USA, Chuck Yeager, achieved flight speeds of more than Mach 1. This happened in 1947. Then he “accelerated” his plane, flying at an altitude of 12.2 thousand meters above the ground, to a speed of 1066 km/h. This is how the first one went supersonic flight not the ground.
Already in the 1950s, work began on the design and preparation for mass production of passenger aircraft capable of flying at speeds faster than sound. They are led by scientists and aircraft designers from the most powerful countries in the world. And they manage to succeed.
That same Concorde, a model that will finally be abandoned in 2003, was created in 1969. This is a joint British-French development. The symbolically chosen name is “Concorde”, from French, translated as “concord”.
It was one of two existing types of supersonic passenger aircraft. Well, the creation of the second (or rather, chronologically, the first) is the merit of the aircraft designers of the USSR. The Soviet equivalent of the Concorde is called the Tu-144. It was designed in the 1960s and made its first flight on December 31, 1968, a year before the British-French model.
To this day, no other types of supersonic passenger aircraft have been implemented. Both the Concorde and the Tu-144 flew thanks to turbojet engines, which were specially rebuilt in order to operate in the mode for a long time. supersonic speed.
The Soviet analogue of the Concorde was operated for a significantly shorter period. Already in 1977 it was abandoned. The plane flew at an average speed of 2,300 kilometers per hour and could carry up to 140 passengers at a time. But at the same time, the price of a ticket for such a “supersonic” flight was two, two and a half, or even three times more than for an ordinary one.
Of course, such things were not in great demand among Soviet citizens. And maintaining the Tu-144 was not easy and expensive. That’s why they were abandoned so quickly in the USSR.
Concordes lasted longer, although tickets for the flights they flew were also expensive. And the demand was not great either. But still, despite this, they continued to be exploited, both in Great Britain and in France.
If you recalculate the cost of a Concorde ticket in the 1970s at today's exchange rate, it will be about two tens of thousands of dollars. For a one way ticket. One can understand why the demand for them was somewhat less than for flights using aircraft that do not reach supersonic speeds.
Concorde could carry from 92 to 120 passengers at a time. He flew at a speed of more than 2 thousand km/h and covered the distance from Paris to New York in three and a half hours.
Several decades passed like this. Until 2003.
One of the reasons for the refusal to operate this model was a plane crash that occurred in 2000. At that time, there were 113 people on board the crashed Concorde. They all died.
Later, an international crisis began in the field of passenger air transportation. Its cause is the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, in the United States.
Moreover, on top of that, the warranty period for Concorde service by Airbus is ending. All this together made the further operation of supersonic passenger aircraft extremely unprofitable. And in 2003, all Concordes were written off one by one, both in France and in the UK.
Hopes
After this, there were still hopes for a quick “return” of supersonic passenger aircraft. Aircraft designers talked about creating special engines that would save fuel, despite the flight speed. We talked about improving the quality and optimizing the main avionics systems on such aircraft.
But, in 2006 and 2008, new resolutions of the International Organization were issued civil aviation. They defined the latter (they are valid, by the way, also on this moment) standards for permissible aircraft noise during flight.
And supersonic planes, as you know, did not have the right to fly over populated areas, that’s why. After all, they produced strong noise pops (also due to the physical characteristics of the flight) when they moved at maximum speeds.
This was the reason that the “planning” of the “revival” of supersonic passenger aviation was somewhat slowed down. However, in fact, after the introduction of this requirement, aircraft designers began to think about how to solve this problem. After all, it also took place before, it’s just that the “ban” focused attention on it - the “noise problem”.
What about today?
But ten years have passed since the last “ban”. And planning smoothly turned into design. Today, several companies and government organizations are engaged in the creation of passenger supersonic aircraft.
Which ones exactly? Russian: Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (the same one that is named after Zhukovsky), Tupolev and Sukhoi companies. Russian aircraft designers have an invaluable advantage.
The experience of Soviet designers and creators of the Tu-144. However, it is better to talk about domestic developments in this area separately and in more detail, which is what we propose to do next.
But it’s not just the Russians who are creating a new generation of supersonic passenger aircraft. This is also a European concern - Airbus, and the French company Dassault. Among the companies in the United States of America that are working in this direction are Boeing and, of course, Lockheed Martin. In the land of the rising sun, the main organization designing such an aircraft is the Aerospace Research Agency.
And this list is by no means complete. It is important to clarify that the overwhelming majority of professional aircraft designers working in this field are divided into two groups. Regardless of country of origin.
Some believe that it is in no way possible to create a “quiet” supersonic passenger aircraft at the current level of technological development of mankind.
Therefore, the only way out is to design a “simply fast” airliner. It, in turn, will go to supersonic speed in those places where this is allowed. And when flying, for example, over populated areas, return to subsonic.
Such “jumps,” according to this group of scientists and designers, will reduce flight time to the minimum possible, and not violate the requirements for noise effects.
Others, on the contrary, are full of determination. They believe that it is possible to fight the cause of the noise now. And they made a lot of effort to prove that it is quite possible to build a supersonic airliner that flies quietly in the very coming years.
And a little more fun physics
So, when flying at a speed of more than Mach 1.2, the airframe of the aircraft generates shock waves. They are strongest in the tail and nose areas, as well as some other parts of the aircraft, such as the edges of the air intakes.
What is a shock wave? This is an area where air density, pressure and temperature experience sudden changes. They occur when moving at high speeds, faster than sound speed.
To people who are standing on the ground, despite the distance, it seems that some kind of explosion is happening. Of course, we are talking about those who are in relative proximity - under the place where the plane flies. That is why supersonic aircraft flights over cities were banned.
It is precisely such shock waves that representatives of the “second camp” of scientists and designers are fighting against, who believe in the possibility of leveling out this noise.
If we go into detail, the reason for this is literally a “collision” with air at a very high speed. At the wave front there is a sharp and strong increase in pressure. At the same time, immediately after it, there is a drop in pressure, and then a transition to a normal pressure indicator (the same as it was before the “collision”).
However, a classification of wave types has already been carried out and potentially optimal solutions have been found. All that remains is to complete the work in this direction and make the necessary adjustments to the aircraft designs, or create them from scratch, taking into account these amendments.
In particular, NASA specialists came to realize the need for structural changes in order to reform the characteristics of the flight as a whole.
Namely, changing the specifics of shock waves, as far as possible at the current technological level. What is achieved by restructuring the wave, through specific design changes. As a result, the standard wave is considered as an N-type, and the one that occurs during flight, taking into account the innovations proposed by experts, as an S-type.
And with the latter, the “explosive” effect of pressure changes is significantly reduced, and people located below, for example, in a city, if an airplane flies over them, even when they hear such an effect, it is only like a “distant slam of a car door.”
Shape is also important
In addition, for example, Japanese aviation designers, not so long ago, in mid-2015, created an unmanned glider model D-SEND 2. Its shape is designed in a special way, allowing to significantly reduce the intensity and number of shock waves that occur when the device flies at supersonic speed.
The effectiveness of the innovations proposed in this way by Japanese scientists was proven during tests of D-SEND 2. These were carried out in Sweden in July 2015. The course of the event was quite interesting.
The glider, which was not equipped with engines, was raised to a height of 30.5 kilometers. By using hot air balloon. Then he was thrown down. During the fall, he “accelerated” to a speed of Mach 1.39. The length of D-SEND 2 itself is 7.9 meters.
After the tests, Japanese aircraft designers were able to confidently declare that the intensity of the shock waves when their brainchild flies at a speed exceeding the speed of sound propagation is two times less than that of the Concorde.
What are the features of D-SEND 2? First of all, its bow is not axisymmetric. The keel is shifted towards it, and at the same time, the horizontal tail unit is installed as all-moving. It is also located at a negative angle to the longitudinal axis. And at the same time, the tail tips are located lower than the attachment point.
The wing, smoothly connected to the fuselage, is made with normal sweep, but stepped.
According to approximately the same scheme, now, as of November 2018, the supersonic passenger AS2 is being designed. Professionals from Lockheed Martin are working on it. The customer is NASA.
Also, the Russian SDS/SPS project is now at the stage of improving its form. It is planned that it will be created with an emphasis on reducing the intensity of shock waves.
Certification and... another certification
It is important to understand that some projects of passenger supersonic aircraft will be implemented in the early 2020s. At the same time, the rules established International organization civil aviation, in 2006 and 2008, will still be in effect.
This means that if before that time there is no serious technological breakthrough in the field of “quiet supersonic”, then it is likely that aircraft will be created that will reach speeds above one Mach only in zones where this is permitted.
And after that, when the necessary technologies do appear, in such a scenario, many new tests will have to be carried out. In order for aircraft to obtain permission to fly over populated areas. But these are only speculations about the future; today it is very difficult to say anything for sure on this matter.
Question of price
Another problem mentioned earlier is the high cost. Of course, today, many engines have already been created that are much more economical than those that were used twenty or thirty years ago.
In particular, those that can provide aircraft movement at supersonic speed are now being designed, but at the same time do not “eat up” as much fuel as the Tu-144 or Concorde.
How? First of all, this is the use of ceramic composite materials, which reduce temperatures, and this is especially important in hot zones of power plants.
In addition, the introduction of another, third, air circuit - in addition to the external and internal ones. Leveling the rigid coupling of a turbine with a fan, inside an aircraft engine, etc.
But nevertheless, even thanks to all these innovations, it cannot be said that supersonic flight, in today's realities, is economical. Therefore, in order for it to become accessible and attractive to the general public, work to improve engines is extremely important.
Perhaps the current solution would be a complete redesign of the design, experts say.
By the way, it will also not be possible to reduce the cost by increasing the number of passengers per flight. Because those aircraft that are being designed today (meaning, of course, supersonic aircraft) are designed to transport a small number of people - from eight to forty-five.
A new engine is a solution to the problem
Among the latest innovations in this area, it is worth noting the innovative jet turbofan power plant created this year, 2018, by GE Aviation. In October it was introduced under the name Affinity.
This engine is planned to be installed on the mentioned AS2 passenger model. There are no significant technological “new products” in this type of power plants. But at the same time, it combines the features of jet engines with high and low bypass ratios. Which makes the model very interesting for installation on a supersonic aircraft.
Among other things, the creators of the engine claim that during testing it will prove its ergonomics. The fuel consumption of the power plant will be approximately equal to that which can be recorded for standard airliner engines currently in operation.
That is, this is a claim that the power plant of a supersonic aircraft will consume approximately the same amount of fuel as a conventional airliner that is not capable of accelerating to speeds above Mach one.
How this will happen is still difficult to explain. Since the design features of the engine are not currently being disclosed by its creators.
What could they be - Russian supersonic airliners?
Of course, today there are many specific projects for supersonic passenger aircraft. However, not all are close to implementation. Let's look at the most promising ones.
So, Russian aircraft manufacturers who inherited the experience of Soviet masters deserve special attention. As mentioned earlier, today, within the walls of TsAGI named after Zhukovsky, according to its employees, the creation of the concept of a new generation supersonic passenger aircraft has almost been completed.
The official description of the model, provided by the press service of the institute, mentions that it is a “light, administrative” aircraft, “with a low level of sonic boom.” The design is carried out by specialists, employees of this institution.
Also, in a message from the TsAGI press service it is mentioned that thanks to the special layout of the aircraft body and the special nozzle on which the noise suppression system is installed, this model will demonstrate the latest achievements in the technological development of the Russian aircraft industry.
By the way, it is important to mention that among the most promising TsAGI projects, in addition to what is described, is a new configuration passenger airliners, called the “flying wing”. It implements several particularly relevant improvements. Specifically, it makes it possible to improve aerodynamics, reduce fuel consumption, etc. But for non-supersonic aircraft.
Among other things, this institute has repeatedly presented finished projects that have attracted the attention of aviation enthusiasts from all over the world. Let’s say, one of the latest, a model of a supersonic business jet, capable of traveling up to 7,000 kilometers without refueling, and reaching a speed of 1.8 thousand km/h. This was presented at the exhibition “Gidroaviasalon-2018”.
“...design is going on all over the world!”
In addition to the Russian ones mentioned above, the following models are also the most promising. American AS2 (capable of speeds up to Mach 1.5). Spanish S-512 (speed limit - Mach 1.6). And also, currently at the design stage in the USA, Boom, from Boom Technologies (well, it will be able to fly at a maximum speed of Mach 2.2).
There is also the X-59, which is being created for NASA by Lockheed Martin. But it will be a flying scientific laboratory, not a passenger plane. And no one has planned to put it into mass production yet.
The plans of Boom Technologies are interesting. Employees of this company say that they will try to reduce the cost of flights on the supersonic airliners created by the company as much as possible. For example, they can give an approximate price for a flight from London to New York. This is about 5000 US dollars.
For comparison, this is how much a ticket costs for a flight from the English capital to “New” York, on a regular or “subsonic” plane, in business class. That is, the price of a flight on an airliner capable of flying at speeds greater than Mach 1.2 will be approximately equal to the cost of an expensive ticket on an airplane that could not make the same fast flight.
However, Boom Technologies bet that it will not be possible to create a “quiet” supersonic passenger airliner in the near future. Therefore, their Boom will fly at the maximum speed it can develop only over water. And when you are above land, switch to a smaller one.
Given that the Boom will be 52 meters long, it will be able to carry up to 45 passengers at a time. According to the plans of the company designing the aircraft, the first flight of this new product should occur in 2025.
What is known today about another promising project - AS2? It will be able to carry significantly fewer people - only eight to twelve people per flight. In this case, the length of the liner will be 51.8 meters.
Over water, it is planned to be able to fly at a speed of Mach 1.4-1.6, and over land - 1.2. By the way, in the latter case, thanks to its special shape, the plane, in principle, will not generate shock waves. For the first time, this model should take to the air in the summer of 2023. In October of the same year, the aircraft will make its first flight across the Atlantic.
This event will be timed to coincide with a memorable date - the twentieth anniversary of the day the Concordes last flew over London.
Moreover, the Spanish S-512 will take to the skies for the first time no later than the end of 2021. And deliveries of this model to customers will begin in 2023. Maximum speed this aircraft is Mach 1.6. It can accommodate 22 passengers on board. The maximum flight range is 11.5 thousand km.
The client is the head of everything!
As you can see, some companies are trying very hard to complete the design and begin creating aircraft as quickly as possible. For whom are they willing to rush in such a hurry? Let's try to explain.
So, during 2017, for example, the volume of air passenger traffic amounted to four billion people. Moreover, 650 million of them flew long distances, spending from 3.7 to thirteen hours on the way. Next - 72 million out of 650, moreover, they flew first or business class.
It is these 72,000,000 people, on average, that those companies that are engaged in the creation of supersonic passenger aircraft are counting on. The logic is simple - it is possible that many of them will not mind paying a little more for a ticket, provided that the flight will be approximately twice as fast.
But, even despite all the prospects, many experts reasonably believe that the active progress of supersonic aviation, created for the transport of passengers, may begin after 2025.
This opinion is confirmed by the fact that the mentioned “flying” laboratory X-59 will first take to the air only in 2021. Why?
Research and Outlook
The main purpose of its flights, which will take place over several years, will be to collect information. The fact is that this aircraft must fly over various populated areas at supersonic speed. Residents of these settlements have already expressed their consent to conduct tests.
And after the laboratory plane completes its next “experimental flight”, people living in those populated areas, over which it flew, must talk about the “impressions” that they received during the time when the airliner was above their heads. And especially clearly express how the noise was perceived. Did it affect their livelihoods, etc.
The data collected in this way will be transmitted to the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States. And after their detailed analysis by experts, perhaps the ban on supersonic airliner flights over populated land areas will be lifted. But in any case, this will not happen before 2025.
In the meantime, we can watch the creation of these innovative aircraft, which will soon mark the birth of a new era of supersonic passenger aviation with their flights!
Aviation technology in the latest concepts regularly demonstrates advanced technological developments in various aspects of operation. This concerns not just the modernization of current 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 with 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 Brazilian 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 go to supersonic speed, are also not being ignored. 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, Terrafugia's future aircraft should at least eliminate the need to use a 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 is a new development, but in the near future it will be 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 last 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, the power plant of 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.
Illustration copyright Airbus Image caption An example of what the power package of an Airbus aircraft might look like in the future. Instead of the usual “skeleton” of frames, stringers and spars - a lightweight mesh of complex shape
Is it possible for the very concept of flight to change completely? It is possible that this will be the case in the future. Thanks to new materials and technologies, passenger drones may appear, and supersonic airliners will return to the skies. The BBC Russian service analyzed information about the latest projects of Airbus, Uber, Toyota and other companies to determine in which direction aviation will develop in the future.
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City sky
Nowadays, a fairly large layer of the atmosphere up to a kilometer high remains relatively free over cities. This space is used by special aviation, helicopters, as well as individual private or corporate aircraft.
But in this layer a new species is already beginning to develop air transport. It has many names - urban or personal aviation, the air transport system of the future, sky taxi, and so on. But its essence was formulated at the beginning of the 19th century by futurist artists: everyone will have the opportunity to use a small aircraft to fly short distances.
Illustration copyright Hulton Archive Image caption This is how the artist imagined the future in 1820. An individual aircraft was present in such pictures even then- What projects are aircraft designers working on around the world?
Engineers never gave up on this dream. But until now, the lack of durable and lightweight materials and imperfect electronics, without which many small devices cannot be launched, have been hampered. With the advent of high-strength, lightweight carbon fiber and the development of portable computers, everything changed.
The current stage of creating urban airmobile transport is somewhat reminiscent of the 1910s, the very beginning of the history of aircraft construction. Then the designers did not immediately find the optimal shape of the aircraft and boldly experimented, creating bizarre designs.
Now the common task - to make an aircraft for the urban environment - also allows us to build a wide variety of devices.
The Airbus corporation, for example, is developing three large projects at once - the manned single-seat Vahana, which, according to the corporation's plans, will be able to fly next year, and by 2021 will be ready for commercial flights. Two other projects: CityAirbus, an unmanned quadcopter taxi for several people, and Pop.Up, which the corporation is developing together with Italdesign. This is a single-seat unmanned module that can be used on a wheeled chassis for trips around the city, as well as suspended from a quadcopter for flights.
Airbus Pop.Up and CityAirbus use the quadcopter principle, and Vahana is a tiltrotor (that is, a device that takes off like a helicopter, and then turns its engines and then moves like an airplane).
Quadcopter and tiltrotor designs are now the main ones for passenger drones. Quadcopters are much more stable during flight. And tiltrotors allow you to reach higher speeds. But both schemes allow you to take off and land vertically. This is a key requirement for urban aviation, since conventional aircraft require a runway. This means that the construction of additional infrastructure for the city will be required.
Other notable projects include the Volocopter from the German company eVolo, which is a multicopter with 18 propellers. This is the most successful air taxi project so far; testing has already begun in Dubai in the fall of 2017. In June the manager transport company Dubai about it with eVolo.
Illustration copyright Lilium Image caption Lilium is propelled by 36 electric turbines installed in a row on planes and in two blocks at the front of the deviceAnother project from Germany - Lilium - is interesting due to its unusual layout. This is an electric tiltrotor with 36 small turbines installed in two blocks along the wing, and with two more blocks in the front of the device. The company has already begun test flights in unmanned mode.
Japanese automaker Toyota is investing in the Cartivator project.
And the online taxi service Uber is also developing its own unmanned system, in this project it is working closely with NASA to develop technologies and software service in cities with high population density.
Illustration copyright Ethan Miller/Getty Images Image caption The EHang 184 passenger drone, created by the Chinese company Beijing Yi-Hang Creation Science & Technology Co., Ltd. in 2016Among aviation experts there are many supporters of unmanned urban passenger transportation and skeptics.
Among the latter is Avia.ru editor-in-chief Roman Gusarov. The main problem, in his opinion, is the low power of electric motors and batteries. And efficient passenger drones are unlikely to appear in the foreseeable future, despite the fact that a lot of money is being invested in their development.
“The technologies are still quite crude and the systems created using them are subject to technical failures,” Denis Fedutinov, editor-in-chief of the uav.ru portal, noted in an interview with the BBC.
According to him, such projects may simply be a nice publicity stunt and an opportunity to show that the company is engaged in cutting-edge research. He also does not rule out that, against the background of enthusiastic publications in the press, many startups may arise that, having found investor money, will not be able to create a flying passenger drone.
Executive Director of Infomost Consulting (a company engaged in consulting in the field of transport) Boris Rybak believes that so far the biggest problem in this area is fear. People will be afraid to trust their lives to an aircraft without a pilot for a long time.
“When the first self-propelled gasoline carts appeared, they rode next to the horses with smoke, smoke and roar, and people ran away. But this is normal, it was scary then, and it’s scary now,” Rybak said.
Between the houseamiand birdsami
Currently, NASA and the US Federal Aviation Administration are working on the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) program. It is within the framework of this program that Uber is collaborating with NASA and the FAA.
The development of technologies in this area is far ahead of the development of rules for their regulation. The American program began to be developed in 2015, but in " road map“its development has not yet even marked the deadline for creating rules for flights in densely populated urban areas.
Illustration copyright Italdesign Image caption The Pop.Up passenger capsule can be used on a wheeled chassis or attached to a quadcopterThis refers to drone flights for mail delivery and news video recording. But the program says nothing at all about the transportation of passengers.
Judging by data from presentations studied by the BBC Russian Service, in the future, flights of passenger drones in cities will be regulated through the formation of routes in air corridors. The same principle applies in modern civil aviation. In this case, the drones will actively interact with each other and monitor the airspace around them to avoid collisions with other drones and other objects in the air (for example, birds).
However, as Boris Rybak believes, a system built on the principle of free flight, where routes would be built by computers taking into account the location of all aircraft in the air, would be much more effective.
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Will Russia remain on the sidelines?
In Russia, authorities are also trying to take cautious steps to regulate drone flights in urban environments. Thus, Rostelecom has been interested in drones for a long time. It is a contractor for the Russian Space Systems company, which in November 2015 won the Roscosmos competition for 723 million rubles ($12.3 million) to create the infrastructure of the Federal Network Operator.
Illustration copyright Tom Cooper/Getty Images Image caption Another supersonic business jet project - XB-1 from the American company Boom TechnologyThis infrastructure will have to provide surveillance of transport and unmanned vehicles (including aircraft), ground and water manned and unmanned transport, by rail, explained a representative of Rostelecom. The operator is creating a prototype of infrastructure that will control the movement of vehicles, primarily drones, and is ready to spend about 100 million rubles ($1.7 million) on subcontractors.
Deputy head of the Moscow Department of Science, Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship Andrei Tikhonov told the BBC that the Russian capital does not yet have the conditions for the appearance of passenger drones.
“Firstly, the regulatory framework for unmanned aerial and ground vehicles has not been fully developed. Secondly, the Moscow infrastructure is not yet adapted for mass transportation of goods and passengers on unmanned vehicles. Thirdly, most of the vehicles intended for transporting people and large cargo, are still at the testing stage and must receive the appropriate documentation to work in urban conditions. Again, issues of compulsory passenger insurance and many others arise," he explained.
True, according to him, these problems do not so much stop the city authorities as force them to look for ways to solve them.
Faster than sound
Another area that many aircraft manufacturing corporations are working on is supersonic passenger transportation.
This idea is not new at all. November 22 marks the 40th anniversary of the start of regular commercial flights between New York, Paris and London on Concorde aircraft. In the 1970s, the idea of supersonic transportation was implemented by British Airways together with Air France, as well as Aeroflot on the Tu-144. But in practice it turned out that the technologies of that time were not suitable for civil aviation.
As a result, the Soviet project was canceled after seven months of operation, and the British-French one after 27 years.
Illustration copyright Evening Standard Image caption Concorde, like the Tu-144, was ahead of its time, but showed how difficult it is to make a supersonic passenger planeFinance is usually cited as the main reason why the Concorde and Tu-144 projects were cancelled. These planes were expensive.
The engines of such devices consume much more fuel. For such aircraft it was necessary to create its own infrastructure. Tu-144, for example, used its own type aviation fuel, much more complex in composition, it required special maintenance, more thorough and expensive. For this aircraft it was even necessary to maintain separate ramps.
Another serious problem, in addition to the complexity and cost of maintenance, was noise. During flight at supersonic speed, a strong air seal occurs at all leading edges of the aircraft elements, which generates a shock wave. It reaches behind the plane in the form of a huge cone, and when it reaches the ground, the person through whom it passes hears a deafening sound, like an explosion. It is because of this that Concorde flights over US territory at supersonic speed were prohibited.
And it is noise that designers are now primarily trying to combat.
After the cessation of Concorde flights, attempts to build a new, more efficient supersonic passenger aircraft did not stop. And with the advent of new technologies in the field of materials, engine building and aerodynamics, people began to talk about them more and more often.
Several large projects in the field of supersonic civil aviation are being developed around the world. Basically, these are business jets. That is, designers initially try to target that market segment where the cost of tickets and service plays a lesser role than in route transportation.
Illustration copyright Aerion Image caption Aerion is developing the AS2 aircraft in partnership with AirbusNASA, together with Lockheed Martin Corporation, is developing a supersonic aircraft, trying, first of all, to solve the problem of the sound barrier. QueSST technology involves searching for a special aerodynamic shape of the aircraft, which would “smear” the hard sound barrier, making it blurry and less noisy. Currently, NASA has already developed the appearance of the aircraft, and its flight tests may begin in 2021.
Another notable project is AS2, which is being developed by Aerion in partnership with Airbus.
Airbus is also working on the Concord 2.0 project. This aircraft is planned to be equipped with three types of engines - a rocket in the tail section and two conventional jet engines, with the help of which the aircraft will be able to take off almost vertically, as well as one ramjet, which will already accelerate the aircraft to a speed of Mach 4.5.
True, Airbus deals with such projects quite carefully.
“Airbus continues to research in the field of supersonic/hypersonic technologies, we are also studying the market to understand whether these types of projects will be viable and feasible,” Airbus said in an official commentary to the BBC Russian Service. “We do not see a market for such aircraft now and in the foreseeable future due to the high costs of such systems. This may change with the advent of new technologies, or with changes in the economic or social environment. In general, for now this is more of an area of study, rather than a priority direction."
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Is it possible to revive Concorde?It is really difficult to predict whether there will be a demand for such aircraft. Boris Rybak notes that information technologies have also developed in parallel with aviation, and now a businessman who needs to quickly resolve an issue on the other side of the Atlantic can often do this not in person, but via the Internet.
“It’s six hours to fly business class or a business jet from London to New York. Otherwise, technically you’ll spend four, well, three and forty. Is this [game] worth the price?” - said Rybak regarding supersonic flights.
Based on the experience of the Tu-144
However, other Russian aviation experts think differently. Supersonic aircraft will be able to take their place in the market, says the rector of the Moscow Aviation Institute, Mikhail Pogosyan, the former head of the United Aircraft Corporation.
“A supersonic aircraft makes it possible to reach a qualitatively different level; it allows you to save global time - a day. Market forecasts indicate that the introduction of this kind of technology and this kind of project will be associated with the cost of such a flight. If such a cost is acceptable and will not times different from the cost of a flight on a subsonic aircraft, then I assure you that there is a market,” he told the BBC Russian Service.
Pogosyan spoke at the Aerospace Science Week forum at the Moscow Aviation Institute, where he, in particular, spoke about the prospects for creating a supersonic aircraft with the participation of Russian specialists. Russian enterprises (TsAGI, MAI, UAC) are participating in the large European research program Horizon 2020, one of the directions of which is the development of a supersonic passenger aircraft.
Poghosyan listed the main properties of such an aircraft - a low level of sonic boom (otherwise the aircraft will not be able to fly over populated areas), a variable cycle engine (it needs to work well at subsonic and supersonic speeds), new heat-resistant materials (at supersonic speeds the aircraft gets very hot), artificial intelligence, as well as the fact that such an aircraft can be controlled by one pilot.
At the same time, the rector of MAI is convinced that the supersonic aircraft project can only be created at the international level.
Illustration copyright Boris Korzin/TASS Image caption According to Sergei Chernyshev, Russia has preserved the school of creating supersonic passenger aircraftThe head of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after Professor N. E. Zhukovsky (TsAGI) Sergei Chernyshev said at the forum that Russian specialists are participating in three international projects in the field of supersonic passenger aviation - Hisac, Hexafly and Rumble. All three projects do not aim to create a final commercial product. Their main task is to study the properties of supersonic and hypersonic vehicles. According to him, now aircraft manufacturers are only creating the concept of such an aircraft.
In an interview with the BBC, Sergei Chernyshev said that the strength of Russian aircraft manufacturers is their experience in creating supersonic aircraft and their operation. According to him, this is a strong aerodynamic school, extensive experience in testing, including in extreme conditions. Russia also has a “traditionally strong school of materials scientists,” he added.
“My subjective forecast: on the horizon of 2030-35 a [business jet] will appear. Academician Pogosyan believes that between 2020 and 2030. He gave them ten years. This is true, but still closer to 2030,” - said Sergei Chernyshev.
"Ordinary" unusual liners
The main task of aircraft designers today is to achieve an increase in the fuel efficiency of the aircraft, while reducing harmful emissions and noise. The second task is to develop new control systems where the computer will perform more and more tasks.
Nowadays, no one will be surprised by the fly-by-wire control system of an aircraft, when signals from the control stick or steering wheel, pedals and other organs are transmitted to the rudders and other mechanization elements in the form of electrical signals. Such a system allows the on-board computer to control the pilot’s actions, making adjustments and correcting errors. However, this system is already yesterday.
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As Kirill Budaev, vice-president of the Irkut corporation for marketing and sales, told the BBC, the Russian company is working on a system where only one pilot will fly the plane, and the functions of the second during takeoff and landing will be performed by a specially trained senior flight attendant. During an airplane flight at flight level, one pilot is quite enough, Irkut believes.
According to the laws of nature
Another major innovation that has emerged in the last decade is composite materials. The development of lightweight, durable plastic can be compared to the use of aluminum in post-war aviation. This material, along with the advent of efficient turbojet engines, changed the face of aircraft. Now exactly the same revolution is happening with composites, which are gradually displacing metal from aircraft structures.
Aircraft design is increasingly using 3D printing, which allows it to create more complex shapes with high precision. And strive to reduce fuel consumption.
For example, Airbus and Boeing use the latest LEAP family engines manufactured by CFM International. The injectors in these engines are 3D printed. And this increased fuel efficiency by 15%.
In addition, the aviation industry has now begun to actively embrace bionic design.
Bionics is an applied science that studies the possibilities of practical application in various technical devices principles and structures that appeared in nature due to evolution.
Illustration copyright Airbus Image caption Bracket designed using bionic technologyHere's a simple example - the picture above shows a bracket similar to the one used on an Airbus aircraft. Pay attention to its shape - usually such an element is a solid piece of triangular metal. However, by calculating on a computer the forces that would be applied to its various parts, the engineers figured out which parts could be removed and which could be modified in such a way as to not only lighten, but also strengthen such a component.
Much more complex work was carried out by a group of scientists led by Professor Niels Aage of the Technical University of Denmark. In October 2017, they published a report in the journal Nature in which they described how they calculated the force set of a Boeing 777 airliner wing on the French Curie supercomputer - a complex structure of rather thin jumpers and struts.
As a result, according to the researchers, the weight of the aircraft's two wings could be reduced by 2-5% without losing strength. Considering that both wings weigh a combined 20 tons, this would result in savings of up to 1 ton, which corresponds to an estimated reduction in fuel consumption of 40-200 tons per year. But this is already significant, isn’t it?
At the same time, bionic design in the future, as aircraft manufacturing corporations believe, will be used more and more. The plane in the first illustration to this text is just a sketch by Airbus engineers, but it already shows on what principle the powertrain of future aircraft will be created.
Electricity
The engine is the most important and most expensive part of the aircraft. And it is he who determines the configuration of any aircraft. Currently, most aircraft engines are either natural gas or internal combustion, gasoline or diesel. Only a very small part of them runs on electricity.
According to Boris Rybak, throughout the decades of the existence of jet aviation, the development of fundamentally new aircraft engines was not carried out. He sees this as a manifestation of the lobby of oil corporations. Whether this is true or not, during the entire post-war period an effective engine that did not burn hydrocarbon fuel never appeared. Although even atomic ones were tested.
The attitude towards electricity in the global aviation industry is currently changing dramatically. The concept of a “More Electric Aircraft” has emerged in global aviation. It implies greater electrification of the units and mechanisms of the device compared to modern ones.
In Russia, technology within the framework of this concept is carried out by the Technodinamika holding, part of Rostec. The company is developing electric reverse drives for the future Russian PD-14 engine, fuel system drives, and landing gear retraction and extension drives.
"In the long term, we are, of course, looking at large commercial aircraft projects. And in these big planes“We will most likely use a hybrid propulsion system before switching to full electric propulsion,” Airbus said in a commentary. - The fact is that the power-to-weight ratio in modern batteries is still very far from what we need. But we are preparing for a future where this is possible."
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