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The SAI Quiet Supersonic Transport (QSST) is a project by Supersonic Aerospace International (SAI) to develop a private supersonic business jet.
Development:
The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works began developing the QSST in 2001 under a $25-million contract from SAI.
Designed to cruise at an altitude of 60,000 feet at speeds of Mach 1.6 to 1.8 (approximately 1,218 to 1,370 statute miles per hour) with a range of 4,600 statute miles, the two-engine gull-wing aircraft is designed to create a sonic boom only 1% as strong as that generated by the Concorde.
SAI has invited engine proposals from General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce. Each of the QSST's two engines must generate 33,000 pounds of thrust, comparable to the power of engines for midsize airliners. SAI plans to select an engine in 2010, assemble an international consortium to manufacture the jet, achieve first flight in 2014, and begin customer deliveries by 2016. The price per aircraft is expected to be about $80 million.
Design:
The QSST is designed to generate a much quieter sonic boom than previous supersonic aircraft, claimed to be 1/100 that of the Concorde.
This result is achieved by increasing the ratio of length to wingspan, using canards, and ensuring that the individual pressure waves generated by each part of the aircraft structure reinforce each other less significantly, producing a longer but less objectionable boom.
SAI says the sonic boom from the QSST will be quieter than 65dB at ground level, on par with the sound of a passing car.
That looks really small...