Spike Aerospace to begin test flights of the SX-1.2 demonstrator
The Spike S-512 supersonic jet will have a maxiumum range of 4,000 nautical miles.
Spike Aerospace is set to begin a series of test flights of its first supersonic demonstrator aircraft this month. The SX-1.2 is a scaled, proof-of-concept aircraft that will help validate the aerodynamics of the S-512 Supersonic Jet.
This is the next phase of the company’s flagship supersonic jet programme.
“We’re very excited to be crossing this milestone and going from conceptual design and pretty pictures to an actual flying aircraft.”
Vik Kachoria, president and CEO of Spike Aerospace, said: “We’re very excited to be crossing this milestone and going from conceptual design and pretty pictures to an actual flying aircraft.”
The company has developed partnerships with Siemens, Quartus, Aernnova, Greenpoint, BRPH and others who have all been part of the development efforts to date.
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Spike intends to have the S-512 aircraft flying by early 2021, with customer deliveries beginning in 2023. The S-512 will seat up to 22 passengers, with a range of 6,200 miles and a cruising speed of Mach 1.6, cutting flight times in half.
Kachoria added: “We have done a lot of analysis using computational fluid dynamics tools and simulations, but until you get an aircraft into the air you don’t really have proof of how it will handle. What we learn from each test flight will be incorporated into the next generation of the aircraft.”
Spike is already building the third generation of demonstrators, with the first two complete and ready for their first flights. “As we gather the low and high speed data,” Kachoria said, “Spike Aerospace continues to refine the designs of our crewed supersonic demonstrators.”
Kachoria said Spike was on schedule to begin high speed testing by the middle of next year and planned to build the crewed high speed demonstrators in 2019. “Our goal is to be flying crewed supersonic test flights before the end of 2019, and we’re on track to achieve that. That will lead to final designs, production and testing of the S-512.”
Spike Aerospace is leading a global collaboration to develop the world’s first supersonic business jet, the Spike S-512 Quiet Supersonic Jet. This advanced next-generation aircraft can fly from NYC to LAX or London to Dubai in three hours with almost no sonic boom.
