Doggzilla
Well-Known Member
So every once in a while the topic of Concorde replacements show up, but most of them are smaller aircraft. What would it take to create a new and profitable full size supersonic transport?
Any Concorde replacement would serve a different purpose than its predecessor did. Range would have to be significantly higher. The world is a different place, and most service would be to and from China, with Europe as a secondary route. But routes to South America or Africa, or India would also be possible. Anywhere with a large elite that enjoys or requires travel.
I think most of the problems can be solved simply by two changes in scale. The aircraft should be scaled up 40%, and its wing area doubled.
An increase of 40% would double its internal volume for only a 40% increase in drag.
The increase in wing area would allow it to operate in air 30% less dense, and carry twice the fuel. This would allow a range of nearly 8000 miles.
The increased altitude would require higher compression engines, but the Concorde was already very low compression, and even average engines would be able to produce the compression required. The majority of the compression is done by the intakes, like a hybrid ramjet.
This should allow an aircraft that can service almost any trans-ocean route currently in demand.
Demand for the Concorde was about 30 aircraft. Today there is more than a magnitude the demand for air travel, and a larger supersonic aircraft would be capable of serving more than 10 times the routes, most of which serve the Elite.
Demand for an upsized Concorde could very well be in the hundreds of aircraft.
What else would it take to make a successful Concorde replacement for the modern world?
Any Concorde replacement would serve a different purpose than its predecessor did. Range would have to be significantly higher. The world is a different place, and most service would be to and from China, with Europe as a secondary route. But routes to South America or Africa, or India would also be possible. Anywhere with a large elite that enjoys or requires travel.
I think most of the problems can be solved simply by two changes in scale. The aircraft should be scaled up 40%, and its wing area doubled.
An increase of 40% would double its internal volume for only a 40% increase in drag.
The increase in wing area would allow it to operate in air 30% less dense, and carry twice the fuel. This would allow a range of nearly 8000 miles.
The increased altitude would require higher compression engines, but the Concorde was already very low compression, and even average engines would be able to produce the compression required. The majority of the compression is done by the intakes, like a hybrid ramjet.
This should allow an aircraft that can service almost any trans-ocean route currently in demand.
Demand for the Concorde was about 30 aircraft. Today there is more than a magnitude the demand for air travel, and a larger supersonic aircraft would be capable of serving more than 10 times the routes, most of which serve the Elite.
Demand for an upsized Concorde could very well be in the hundreds of aircraft.
What else would it take to make a successful Concorde replacement for the modern world?
