Gulfstream X-54
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The Gulfstream X-54 is a proposed research and demonstration aircraft, under development in the United States by
Gulfstream Aerospace Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is an American aircraft company and a subsidiary of General Dynamics. Gulfstream designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services business jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,000 aircraft sinc ...
for
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
, that is planned for use in
sonic boom A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to ...
and
supersonic transport The ogive.html" ;"title="Concorde supersonic transport had an ogive">ogival delta wing, a slender fuselage and four underslung Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 engines. file:Tu-144.jpg, The Tupolev Tu-144 was the first SST to enter service and th ...
research.


Design

Initiated during 2008, the X-54 project is intended to produce an experimental aircraft capable of supersonic speeds with a formed sonic boom that is acoustically shaped to mitigate noise pollution.Jane's 2010. The X-54A is intended to demonstrate low-boom sonic effects in population impact studies in support of future supersonic transport design and regulation. Current regulations prohibit supersonic flight over land areas in the United States; the X-54 is part of NASA's efforts to have the regulations altered to allow for supersonic transports to be commercially viable. NASA's X-54 project is intended to continue the research objectives of the DARPA Quiet Supersonic Aircraft, and is intended to demonstrate low-boom technologies and methods validated by projects such as the NASA Quietspike project, the Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstrator, FaINT Project, and WSPR Project. The X-54 will be designed from the ground up to incorporate all the technology and lessons learned from this combined NASA research spanning several decades into a viable aircraft capable of producing under 75 pdB on the ground while cruising over above . The X-54 aircraft will demonstrate low-noise supersonic flight for use in community base testing to provide research data to reform domestic and international regulations on supersonic over-land flight.


Development

The X-54A was reported as being developed by
Gulfstream Aerospace Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is an American aircraft company and a subsidiary of General Dynamics. Gulfstream designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services business jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,000 aircraft sinc ...
and is intended to be powered by two Rolls-Royce Tay
turbofan A turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a combination of references to the preceding generation engine technology of the turbojet and the add ...
engines. The X-54A may be connected to Gulfstream's "Sonic Whisper" program, trademarked in 2005 as an aircraft design to "reduce boom intensities during supersonic flight"; besides Gulfstream, Lockheed Martin and Boeing have also produced viable designs for commercial supersonic aircraft and all three companies are thought to be contenders in a competition for the X-54 demonstrator aircraft, however as of 2012 NASA lacked the funds to progress the project. Although Gulfstream has made little comment about the X-54A project,. at the 2008
National Business Aviation Association The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is a professional association and lobbying group for private business aviation. Overview NBAA is set up as a 501(c)(6) non-profit entity. NBAA organizes conferences and seminars. Edward M. ...
convention a Gulfstream executive stated that Gulfstream's work on advanced technologies for supersonic flight had been ongoing "for some time" and that a "complete airplane designed for low onicboom" would possibly "have X-54 painted on the side of it". The designation "X-54A" was issued during 2008, but NASA stated it was considered a "placeholder" and was not actively cooperating with Gulfstream on the project. As of late 2012 there were indications that Gulfstream was close to announcing the design of a quiet supersonic business jet. In November 2012, a
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
showing a supersonic jet aircraft configuration was granted to Gulfstream. As of late 2013, according to Gulfstream senior VP marketing and sales Scott Neal, “In order to make the market viable for supersonics you have to make it feasible to fly overland faster than sound – which is currently against the law. We don't think there is a viable market until you change that”..


Specifications (X-54A)


See also


References


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External links

* * {{Supersonic transport X-054 Abandoned civil aircraft projects of the United States Supersonic business jets Twinjets Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear