Posted on 02/17/2007 8:21:23 PM PST by SunkenCiv
If you're ever lucky enough to fly a Quiet Supersonic Transport between New York and Los Angeles, you'll have just enough time to get through a movie -- a short one. Instead of the usual six hours, it will be a 1,100mph, two-hour hop. The QSST, as the proposed luxury private jet is known, could be the first civilian supersonic plane approved for overland routes, thanks to aerodynamics designed to muzzle its sonic boom. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works has been developing the project for six years under a $25-million contract from Supersonic Aerospace International (SAI), founded by Michael Paulson, son of Gulfstream founder Allen Paulson. The 12-passenger QSST would fly at between 47,000 and 57,000 feet with a range of 4,600 miles (Chicago to Rome, for example), and it doesn't need an extended runway. Configured with 12 club chairs, a spacious bathroom and a sweet A/V system, the QSST is aimed at diplomats or executives with plenty of money -- but little time -- to spare.
(Excerpt) Read more at popsci.com ...
Yeah, the spacious, comfortable, entertaining, F-22.
Perfect for those quick business trips. :-)
It's shape reminds me somewhat of the B-?? Valkyrie.
It also reminds me somewhat of the paper planes that I (and others) sent zipping across the elementary classrooms. There was sometimes a 'sonic boom' (GO!! To the Principal's office!!!)
Hmm. I wonder what it would look like with Burt Rutan polka-dots on it.
Distance in Statute Miles: 2,451 miles
Air Distances Between World Cities in Statute Miles
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!
Kerry looked around, “Did you have any packages, Ma’am? Our travel seating will be cramped, but I guarantee you will be safe and comfortable.”
She waved a portable data unit at him. “Just my notebook. Do you really think I can get there and back before my evening appointment? It’s over six thousand
kilometers!” She followed Kerry to the plane. Behind them, worried staffers looked on with concern.
“Our flight time is just over an hour, Ma’am. I’ll be standing by to return you just as quickly when your meeting is over.”
Governor Tanaki was impressed by the statistic, but was even more impressed with the plane. The Sabot, or Rocket-Fighter, was an impressive craft to one on foot. It was massive in scale, and the approaching people were dwarfed by it.
Kerry led Governor Tanaki to a miniscule boarding port, where a folding stairway had already been extended. “Mind the headroom, Ma’am. These fighters were built for speed and firepower, not pilot comfort.”
XB-70
thanks, for the pic too.
And it'll include a robotic face-stretcher, too.
< };^)
By the time this is available Stretch Peelousy will look like this.
A veritable fixture.
NOW we're talking!
What about a smaller version for commuting?!
You are correct.
This is a Lockheed, not a Boeing, project.
The tail assembly looks nothing like the Concorde. The fuselage owes more to the Constellation than it does to the Concorde, which was rather conventional except for the drooping nose. The nose on this plane does have the 'droop' look, but you will note that I left 'nose' off my list of obvious visible differences.
It's from The Rocketeer.
Those people at "SkunkWorks" are pretty amazing! They gave us the SR-71 and the F-117. No telling what all they have up their sleeves.
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