Prospects for creating supersonic aircraft in Russia
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Prospects for creating supersonic aircraft in Russia

Prospects for creating supersonic aircraft in Russia

 

Not long ago, the American company Spike Aerospace announced the successful test of its supersonic passenger aircraft, which, although it can not provide all the needs of civil aviation, can be a powerful impetus for the creation of such aircraft. In addition, not so long ago, experts expressed the opinion that by the middle of the 20-ies in Russia there may be a supersonic aircraft of its own, in connection with which, there are questions as to whether such an approach is rational.

 

 

It's no secret that earlier the Soviet Union was very proud of the civil supersonic Tu-144 created, however, given the fact that due to the lack of experience in designing such aircraft, the history of the extraction of this aircraft was by no means long, but due to the development science and technology, domestic specialists have a real opportunity to create supersonic passenger liners, which allow to accelerate the flights between remote points on our planet in 2-2,5 times.

 

Rationality of using supersonic passenger liners

 

The main problem that arises in the way of Russian aircraft builders in creating supersonic passenger aircraft is the demand for these aircraft, and as the statistics show, Russian airlines, with the possible exception of a few of the largest, will simply not operate such aircraft, which is due to their high cost and labor-intensive maintenance. In fact, if we consider the world arena, experts believe that the demand for the use of supersonic passenger liners is unlikely to exceed 10 units per year, and this is provided that the aircraft will meet modern requirements and will not have a high cost.

 

 

Of course, domestic aircraft builders have a lot of experience in the field of creating supersonic passenger airliners, since if we take into account the fact that at the end of the 60-ies of the last century such unique Tu-144 and "Concord" were created, exceed them.

On the other hand, it is important to take into account the fact that flights from one point of the globe to another at supersonic speeds will require more cost, and, therefore, passengers will have to pay twice as much, and the same ticket from Moscow to Vladivostok will cost 25-30 thousand rubles instead of the current 9-10 thousand rubles, it is logical to assume that the interest among passengers will significantly decrease.

 

Orientation to the market of business transportation

 

Given the fact that the operation of supersonic passenger aircraft is unlikely to become effective for the civilian commercial sphere so far, it is likely that Russian aircraft manufacturers should pay attention to the creation of supersonic business-class aircraft. This is primarily due to the fact that private business is actively developing, while businessmen would probably prefer to quickly and safely get from one point of the world to another.

 

 

Given this fact, the demand for private supersonic aircraft can be quite large, in addition, the production of such aircraft can quickly recoup itself, which is due to relatively inexpensive development, and rather high rates of production.

In addition, it is important to take into account the fact that specialists from Spike Aerospace chose this development path, which also emphasizes its prospects.

Given the above arguments, it is logical to state that the prospects for the appearance of supersonic civil aircraft in Russia are definitely there, however, the opinion of experts is that the first steps in this direction are most likely to be made not earlier than 2020-2025.

 

Kostyuchenko Yuriy specifically for Avia.pro

The author is right: if supersonic aircraft are more complicated, then more expensive.
But it is worth noting that the first jet planes were also more expensive than the piston ones, and today only jet planes are in operation. I believe that with careful study of supersonic aircraft projects, their high cost will pay off at a high speed, i.е. a noticeably shorter flight time. Our roads to Siberia and the Far East are in great need of high speeds. I remember from Moscow to Krasnoyarsk by plane IL-18 to sit in the same chair 6 hours in a row - very tiring! But the passengers were happy about this, too. without transplants will be faster at home! Today, it became possible to switch to supersonic aircraft, which have their flying advantages: they will fly at altitudes, say 20km, where the air density is lower, so less and drag - less fuel consumption. I believe that in the future it will be precisely this feature that designers in their projects of supersonic passenger aircraft will rely on.

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