[kach22i]

October 2016
Aerion AS2 | Business Jet Traveler

Laminar flow involves the air next to the wing. At supersonic speeds it can flow smoothly, free of turbulence, with less drag on the wings, resulting in better speed, range, and fuel economy—but only if the airplane’s design takes advantage of it by eliminating drag-inducing things such as highly swept wings. If you look at the renderings of the AS2 on these pages, you’ll see that the wings are short, thin, and stubby. That’s to benefit from supersonic natural laminar flow....................

Dimensionally, the AS2’s cabin is a different cat. While its maximum height is just over six feet and its maximum width is seven and a half feet, those dimensions aren’t uniform; supersonic aerodynamics mean that the fuselage has to have a non-constant cross-section. There will be more room in the aft half of the cabin, but as you move forward the fuselage tapers.................

For now, Aerion continues development work with Airbus and is searching for a manufacturing and flight-test location—some place with a long runway, near an ocean. The company hopes to be flying the first prototype by 2021. The wait to go fast is going to last a little longer.

http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/models/aircraft/Lockheed-F104.html

Before deliveries of the Starfighter could begin, unexpected problems arose which required an intensive test program. Among these was the tendency of the aircraft to stabilize in a stalled condition-now called super stall. In this condition, the plane remains pitched up in a stalled attitude from which recovery is impossible. This flaw was corrected in April 1957.................

When it made its appearance, the first prototype bore a strong resemblance to a Lockheed-designed research missile, the X-7. In fact, the XF-104 owed a great deal of its design to the X-7 vehicle.

http://www.uavglobal.com/lockheed-martin-x-7a-1/


http://www.uavglobal.com/lockheed-martin-x-7a-1/

The Lockheed X-7 (dubbed the “Flying Stove Pipe”) was an American unmanned test bed of the 1950s for ramjet engines and missile guidance technology.