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Check out this sleek, new 3,000-mph supersonic commercial airliner
Not content with having the coolest supersonic business jet in production starting in 2023, the Reno, Nevada-based aircraft company, Aerion, has now unveiled plans to create the world's first 3,000-mph supersonic passenger airplane capaple of holding 50 travelers.
First out of the hanger will be Aerion's sleek 1,000-mph AS2 airplane, which won't go into actual service for the extremely wealthy until 2027, but the firm already has its eyes fixed on the near future for a speedy new point-to-point airliner that's able to bury the airspeed indicator needle beyond Mach 4.
At those speeds, the pointy-nosed AS3TM concept aircraft could whisk passengers from Los Angeles to Tokyo in a blistering three hours. That's twice as fast as the storied Concorde and nine hours sooner than any modern international carrier.
Buckle up and check out Aerion's new presentation video below...
The AS3TM would have a range around 8,055 miles, which would make it suitable for nearly any major long distance route, with a company goal of eventually letting people zoom between any two dots on the planet in three hours or less.
There are still many hurdles to overcome while designing and testing this ultra-fast plane, the least of which are current regulations banning supersonic flight over land. Then there's the cost of a ticket aboard the AS3 superjet, something that won't come cheap.
“At Aerion, our vision is to build a future where humanity can travel between any two points on our planet within three hours. Supersonic flight is the starting point, but it is just that – the beginning. To truly revolutionize global mobility as we know it today, we must push the boundaries of what is possible” said Aerion’s Chairman, President & CEO, Tom Vice, in a company press release. “The AS3™ forms the next step in our long-term technology roadmap and will bring Aerion’s high Mach flight capability to a broader audience; we look forward to sharing more on our design later this year.”
Will this unreal new airliner ever make it off the ground in the next decade?
Aerion certainly has deep pockets as they've joined forces with Boeing aboard as a major investor/partner and billionaire Robert Bass as its founder. The company's new $300 million headquarters are currently under construction in Melbourne, Florida so they're digging in for the long haul.
