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Supersonic Aerospace International's QSST

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  1. Supersonic Aerospace International's QSST​


    Supersonic Aerospace International (SAI) is developing a QSST or Quiet Supersonic Transport business jet. at a projected 153,000-pound dry weight, this low-boom aircraft is designed for supersonic flight over land. Its radical gull-wing design coupled with an inverted V-tail results in a revolutionary sonic boom mitigation. This technology is outlines in 27 pending patents to for an estimated maximum cruise speed of Mach 1.6 to 1.8 at 60,000 feet of altitude.
  2. SAI’s predecessor company, the ASSET Group, led by aerodynamic engineer Dr. Richard Tracy, conducted a decade of laminar flow studies to develope the QSST's design principles, performing supersonic flight tests in collaboration with NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center and the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA). In fact, SAI has been pursuing a course that Tom Hartmann, their program manager at Lockheed Martin, calls "the cloaked trail." For more than three years, SAI has been secretly funding the design process at Lockheed's Skunk Works, which has confirmed the viability of a quiet supersonic business jet.
  3. The current QSST configuration requires an 8,000 foot runway. The most important aspect of the aircraft's technology is the sonic boom mitigation that results from the QSTST's wing design. It is estimated to be 1/100th of the sound emitted by the Concorde. SAI is in discussions with GE, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls Royce as engine suppliers.
  4. SAI has been actively engaging the FAA to convince them to amend FAR 91.817, allowing for no-boom supersonic flight over the continental U.S. On the international front, SAI is looking for partners and working with regulatory agencies in Europe and Asia, to which the QSST would expect to travel. It's also following closely the work of the International Civil Aviation Organization's Committee for Aviation Environmental Protection, which is also working on the FAA's regulatory criteria. In some overland areas, SAI anticipates using existing supersonic corridors over sparsely populated areas such as northern Canada and Siberia.

    The QSST program sent sonic booms through the aviation press a few years ago, but all has been quiet as a glider since. Still, we found an SAI YouTube video for inspiration...
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