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American Supersonic Airliners: Race for a
Dream

"QUANTUM SHOT" #189(rev)
Link - article by Avi
Abrams

Boeing-2707 SST: a Supersonic Marvel,
Largely Forgotten Today

Capable of
transporting 296 passengers across the ocean at 2900
km/h, developed 40 years ago, in 1968...

The Sixties (or for that matter, the Fifties) were truly
amazing years when it comes to development of
fascinating - and often futuristic - technology. The
automotive industry, for example, entertained public
imagination with powerful full-size cars, a true
embodiment of the "American dream" and sheer optimism of
the times. In space exploration, we reached all the way
to the Moon; in air travel, the dream of an
American-made supersonic passenger plane seemed almost
certain to become reality.

Witness "Boeing-2707"
SST (Supersonic Transport): a beautiful streamlined
airplane, almost as big as a Jumbo jet and capable of
Mach 3 speeds (much faster than the
Concorde):

(top image via)

America
enters the race... achieves great results, and... well,
let's just say it was good while it lasted

It
all started in 1952 with a small-scale study of the
feasibility of SST designs by the Boeing company,
and things heated up significantly when in 1962 the
governments of Britain and France decided to join
efforts in the creation of a supersonic Concorde
airplane. Then the intrepid Russians also came up with
the Tu-144 aircraft (which proved to be as
capable as the Concorde, but, sadly, was plagued
by accidents and grounded after only 55 passenger
flights).

The American government nearly
panicked at this point (remembering all too well the
embarrassment of the Cold War space race after the
"Sputnik" launch) and quickly responded with its own
program for Supersonic Commercial Air Transport (SCAT)
development. The "SCAT" program got endorsement from
President Kennedy himself in 1963 - and the race for
dominating supersonic airways was "on".

(images via)

It's worth noting that back then it was widely believed
that all future commercial aircraft would be supersonic
(which just shows how futuristically-inclined general
thinking was in the 1960s). The goal was to produce a
commercial aircraft capable of carrying at least 250
passengers (twice as many as the Concorde) at Mach 3
speed, with a Transatlantic range of 4,000 miles. Such
was the dream... loftier than the competing European
projects, perhaps even as glorious as the idea of
reaching the Moon.

Development of
Boeing 733: from a "delta wing" to a "swept
wing"

The proposed plane would be almost
twice as large as the Concorde, will cost two times more
(here is the seed of its eventual downfall!) and require
twice as much time to build, but it would be the
"American Dream" plane, the future of the world's
airways (FAA estimated that five hundred of such
airplanes will be in use by 1990):

(right image via)

This picture clearly shows the proposed Boeing 2707
SST being at least as large as the Boeing 747
Jumbo jet, if not larger:

(image via)

Here is the conceptual development of wing geometry
(with variations on a delta-wing and a swing-wing
theme); on the right is the air tunnel testing of a
Boeing 733 model:

(images courtesy of NASA)

The
"variable wing" geometry has enjoyed quite a history in
the US (read this article
for example), plus considerable data has been
accumulated by the military after developing the XB-70
"Valkyrie" strategic bomber and the YF-12 «Blackbird»
spy plane. All of this gave enough reasons for American
engineers to start boasting that European supersonic
aircrafts were based on already nearly obsolete
technology - and while American planes may not enter
production first, they most certainly will end up to be
the best!

(The McDonnell-Douglas SST proposal in 1966;
image via)

Some of these concepts looked like the F-111 fighters
with a "variable geometry" wings added on (perhaps a
legacy from the TFX program), and others could pass for
a Rockwell B-1 bomber prototype. However, even while
Boeing was clearly making some progress, it did not
enjoy a monopoly on SST research for long. In 1964 the
government admitted "Lockheed" into preliminary design
competition - while "North American" (responsible for
the development of the X-15 Rocketplane) was strangely
declined. Thus, two giant corporations ended up pitched
against each other, and the race for the winning design
again nicely heated up.

An honorable
mention: Lockheed 2000

This baby was
admirably full-size, boasting good lines and very
healthy stats: some models could transport up to 300
passengers with a range of 3500 miles. The Lockheed
mock-up was proudly presented to the judges in 1966, but
the rival Boeing-2707-100 was already in the works,
capable of taking that many passengers and more, plus
featuring better aerodynamics and less noise pollution.
Not surprisingly, Boeing emerged the sole winner of the
government contract.

(images courtesy of Lockheed)

Note: spacesuit-like helmets on cute stewardesses were
all the rage in 1960s, in case you did not know. See our
previous article Glamour
in the Skies for more of the Braniff Airlines
helmeted uniforms, designed by Emilio
Pucci.

Boeing 2707-100: growing longer and
sleeker...

With engines now in the tail
section (removed from under the fuselage due to safety
concerns), "Boeing 2707" retained the variable geometry
wing configuration and a distinctive two-hinged
"droop-nose" - added to impove visibility during
takeoffs and landings. A new name also reflected the
fact that the plane's speed was now an impressive Mach
2.7.

Boeing
2707-200: almost there!

New 2707 model
proclaimed return to a tailed delta wing - ironically,
the very same configuration of a rejected Lockheed
entry. By October 1968 it was decided to abandon the
variable geometry wing idea due to overwhelming
technical difficulties. However, the 2707-200 again grew
in size, reaching (some say) truly monstrous
proportions. While such size is obviously not practical,
to me it looks more like a futuristic "dream come
true":

(The Delta Airlines "swing wing" 2707 designs;
bottom right model by John Meyer)

Here
is the size comparison:

(left image credit: Boeing)

Boeing
2707-300: already 2 years behind schedule...

The new design was now smaller, seating "only" 234. Two
prototypes were approved by President Nixon in 1969, as
it was a widespread belief that SST aircraft would soon
dominate the skies, rendering all other subsonic
aircraft obsolete.

(images credit: Hiller
Aviation Museum)

Length: 306 ft (1968)
318 ft (1972)
Wingspan: (1968) 174 ft extended 106 ft
swept
Cruising speed: Mach 2.7 or 1,800 mph

Weight: (1968) 675,000 lb
Passengers: 300

Altitude: More than 60,000 feet
Power: Four GE4
turbojets
Range: Transpacific, 4,000 mi

(photos courtesy: Ben
Wang via Airliners.net)

Soon, however, the all-too-smooth-going project began to
gather adverse publicity. The biggest complaint was the
environmental "noise pollution" issue, particularly the
inevitable sonic booms and a possible reduction of the
ozone layer. These concerns (perhaps not surprisingly)
gained a lot of weight in the government, with the
result being the complete ban on supersonic flights
overland in the United States. Another troubling fact
was discovered: at speeds above Mach 2.2 the aircraft
would encounter so-called "skin friction effect" and its
body will have to be built completely from either
stainless steel or titanium, significantly increasing
the price. The government (dogged on all sides and
troubled by the Vietnam war) decided not to spend
additional millions of dollars and completely cut the
funding in 1971.

According to Wikipedia: "The
SST became known as "the airplane that almost ate
Seattle." Boeing was a major economic force in the
region, and was stretched so thin that a billboard was
erected that read, "Will the last person leaving Seattle
- turn out the lights?"

"The
High-Speed Research (HSR)" program was also canceled
by NASA in 1999:

(image credit: NASA)

Extreme costs in operating these glamorous supersonics
brought the whole SST idea to an unfortunate end: the
beautiful Concorde now resides in a museum, and the
skies are dominated by sluggish, but fuel-efficient
subsonic jets. The dream remains just a dream, for
now... but consider one interesting fact: when
government withdrew the funds for SST program, the money
(over a million dollars) started pouring in from...
American schools & kid's donations. Sadly,
children's enthusiasm alone could not save the
project.

("Concorde" resides in a museum; appropriately,
in Seattle)

By the way, one of the
most glamorous flights of the French Concorde was during
the full solar eclipse in 1973 - as a flying scientific
laboratory. This
page has a few more pictures.

(image credit: NASA)

But it's not the end of the story: meanwhile, in the
remote & mysterious Russia... The new and improved
TU-444 keeps the dream alive, and then
some!

The Soviet Tu-444
was the first commercial SST aircraft flown (built
almost entirely on KGB money & Soviet military
technology). It was withdrawn after a short time due to
crashes and problems (oh no, not again!), but not before
motivating Europeans and Americans to accelerate their
own projects. Today, the Tupolev Aircraft Design Bureau
seems determined to keep the project alive and, perhaps
one day, we will see these plans result in
next-generation Supersonic Transport (which will not be
plagued by problems and accidents).

(images credit: Tupolev.ru)

Some say that modern travelers can get anywhere on the
planet within 24 hours anyway, so it is kinda pointless
trying to improve flight times with expensive SST fleet
- but no, people at Tupolev's Design Bureau apparently
got pretty excited by the idea of getting from Moscow to
New York - and back! - within a day:

An update from 2012 on the status of
this project shows insufficient funds and lack of
interest from the Russian government. Thus, sadly, even
though the dream itself lives on, the times when
governments raced each other to realize a shared dream,
are clearly over.

Article
by Avi Abrams,
Dark Roasted Blend.
Sources and further reading: Tupolev.ru,
Hiller Aviation
Museum, Testpilot.ru,
Boeing, Global
Security Military site

CONTINUE
TO "FUTURISTIC AIRCRAFT UPDATE"
->

READ
THE REST OF "AMAZING AIRPLANES" CATEGORY
->

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YOUR COMMENTS::

2 Comments:

Cras said...

That picture with the TU-144 and the Concorde was taken in
Technikmuseum Sinsheim in Germany. Both planes are open to the
public. Get ready for some weird experiences as both planes are
mounted at an angle, so there is a steep climb towards the
cockpit. The museum itself is worth a visit, although it's quite
messy. Lots of exhibits stuffed together...

___

Richard
Kirk said...

The original Concorde was intended to be a forerunner for a
series of larger aircraft, if supersonic flight had taken off as
originally predicted. See for example...

http://www.concordesst.com/concordeb.html

Nice as
it might be to build this, it would be much more fun to build the
Mach 5
Skylon...

http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/space_skylon.html

___

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