https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/21/aerion-supersonic-shuts-down-ending-plans-for-silent-business-jets.html
RIP Altu holders, F in chat
As Aerion Supersonic targets the middle of the decade for first flight of its AS2 supersonic business jet and service entry by 2027, the company is taking a multi-decade view of its business plan with aspirations to build an AS3 that would dwarf the size of the business jet, move into hybrid and all-electric power, and eventually offer hypersonic aircraft. All the while, its Aerion Connect initiative would enable an ecosystem approach for the customer to reach the destination from door-to-door, rather than airport-to-airport.
Speaking during the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aviation Forum this morning, Aerion Supersonic chairman, president, and CEO Tom Vice outlined this vision, saying, βWe believe that we are building a future where humanity can travel between any two major city pairs within three hours. We know this is going to take a multi-decade approach [involving] hard technical challengesβ¦Itβs about building an entire ecosystem not just the airplane from point to point.β Describing supersonic as Aerionβs βstarting point,β Vice updated the efforts on the GE Affinity-powered Mach 1.4 AS2 business jet, saying it has βmade significant progressβ in the last two years. However, preliminaryΒ design review has been pushed into 2021 andΒ first flightΒ has slid on the $120 million, 12-place aircraft with plans to fly it from the companyβs new complex that will be built in Melbourne, Florida, in 2025, with certification following within two years. βThe pandemic has slowed us down a bit,β he said. The company added in a statement that "In light of the impact of COVID-19 on our industry...Β we have taken proactive measures on reprioritizing workflow to maintain continuity on the AS2 program." Even so, ViceΒ indicated plans to step up engineering hiring later this year or early next in multiple disciplines. Plans call for use of five flight-test aircraft for the program.Β While now shorter,Β the recent redesign of the AS2Β preserved cabin space, which he said will equate to that of a Bombardier Global 6500 or a Gulfstream G600, have the βquietest cabin in the industry and lowest cabin altitude,β and be equipped with amenities such as OLED surfaces, immersive high-fidelity sound with 4k/8k video, large dimmable windows, and βultra-fastβ connectivity.
Aerion already sees a sizeable market for the airplane, particularly from large fractional and other business aviation services providers, including Flexjet, its largest and launch customer. He also
... keep reading on reddit β‘
Thereβs been enough discussion around whether itβs actually feasible and if these new companies will succeed, but letβs assume they doβ¦in that case, would you airline pilots be excited at the prospect of flying a supersonic passenger jet? What type of experience and training do you think it would require? What do you imagine would be very different coming from something like a 777 or A350?
I remember someone somewhere saying shorter legs means more flights, so maybe it wouldnβt be so fun having to cross an ocean twice a day π€
We have the technology, and the rich people have the money. What is the hold-up?
