Aerion Corporation
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| Private | |
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Headquarters | Reno, Nevada, United States |
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Key people
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Robert Bass, President and Chairman; Brian Barents, Vice Chairman; Doug Nichols, CEO; Dr. Richard R. Tracy, CTO |
| Products | supersonic business jet, natural laminar flow consulting |
| Website | aerionsupersonic |
Aerion Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Reno, Nevada.
Projects include the 8-12 passenger AS2 supersonic business jet, with key engineering support provided by the Airbus. Aerion has set a target to achieve FAA certification in 2021 and enter service in 2023.
Aerion's first design was the Aerion SBJ concept for a supersonic business jet capable of flight at speeds up to Mach 1.6, while also cruising efficiently just below the speed of sound (Mach .95 to .99) when necessary.
The Aerion SBJ’s key technology, supersonic natural laminar flow, has been demonstrated in small scale transonic wind tunnel tests and in supersonic flight tests conducted in conjunction with NASA. While SBJ discussions continued with selected airframer builders, data from the company-designed calibration fixture aboard a NASA F-15B in the summer of 2010 was used in the design of a second test model flown during the first half of 2013. The new test model was designed to provide more laminar flow and be shaped so that boundary layer instabilities grow relatively slowly and smoothly. These characteristics should facilitate good boundary layer imaging of the roughness and step-height experiments performed in next phase. The experiments were intended to influence future laminar flow airfoil manufacturing standards for surface quality and assembly tolerances.
In September 2014, Aerion announced a partnership with Airbus (mainly Airbus Defence) to collaborate on designing the Aerion AS2, an updated replacement for the SBJ design, hoping for a market entry in 2021. The switch from SBJ to AS2 was due to customer demand. Aerion intends to finance $3 billion of development, reducing risk for industry partners.
Aerion believes that their design will find a market, despite the US ban on supersonic flight, whereas Gulfstream views the ban as prohibitive.
Increased demand from a variety of aircraft manufacturers for Aerion’s natural laminar flow expertise drove the company to launch Aerion Technologies Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary, in May 2011. Aerion maintains that the same proprietary technologies and design tools that enable a practical SBJ also have subsonic and transonic applications. During the past 10 years, Aerion has developed extensive NLF test data and methods for optimizing its application to aircraft design, as well as assuring practical manufacturing and operational use. Aerion Technologies’ NLF technology and design tools may help airframer builders push speed and efficiency limits for next-generation civil and military aircraft.
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