In this modern age, time is almost always of the essence. For those of us constantly on the go, shuttling coast to coast on business, travel soaks up so much time that could be spent elsewhere. Now imagine cutting the average flight clean in half. That’s the dream promised by Spike Aerospace’s S-512 Supersonic Jet. The new dual-engine aircraft promises to transform business travel by getting you to your destination much, much faster.
According to Spike Aerospace, “Flying 450mph faster than any other civilian jet, the Spike S-512 will enable customers to do more and enjoy more out of life,”
In addition to the amazingly swift travel times, the new jet also offers an incredibly luxe cabin that can seat up to 18 passengers more than comfortably. Also, Instead of standard windows, the Multiplex Digital cabin has large screens that stretch across the cabin and offer diverse options for in-flight entertainment.
“The windowless cabin we will feature in the Spike S-512 can present a live feed of the outside world, a beautiful sunset, a movie, a power point presentation or anything else you select,” writes Spike Aerospace.
The process of bringing the S-512 from initial design to final product has been a long one, and Spike Aerospace has strove to make a number of adjustments and improvements to their design.
“Since that conceptual rendering, our engineers have been focused on aerodynamic analysis and design optimization to meet three requirements: safety, performance and cost-effectiveness,” Spike says.
“The past 18 months have resulted in significant improvements in all three factors and in a few additional areas like sonic boom, range and comfort.”
The biggest design change to the aircraft has been the formation of the wings.
“The new delta wing of the S-512 delivers high aerodynamic efficiency and improved flight performance in both low-speed flight and supersonic cruise,” Spike wrote.
“The highly swept leading-edge reduces wave drag and consequently reduces fuel burn and increases range.
“Improved stability characteristics of the new S-512 design allowed us to eliminate the horizontal tail resulting in further reduction of drag and weight.”
While the plane is not yet available for purchase, those thinking about taking the plunge should expect to pay between $60 million and $80 million.
