GE’s Affinity First GE Supersonic commercial Jet Engine

GE’s Affinity

GE’s Affinity is a new class of supersonic engines purpose-built for business jets.


The GE’s Affinity launching a new era of efficient supersonic flight, is the first civil supersonic engine in 55 years.

It is purposefully designed to enable efficient supersonic flight over water and efficient subsonic flight over land, without requiring modifications to existing compliance regulations.

The engine is timed to meet the launch of the Aerion AS2, who plans to fly their supersonic aircraft by 2023.

David Richardson, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ director of air vehicle design, told GE Aviation’s BikeShop blog:

“Today’s announcement by GE is a huge step forward in realizing this airplane. For us to design a clean-sheet airplane at Skunk Works, we always start with an engine. Without an engine, you don’t have an airplane. It is the enabler really for this whole enterprise.”

Source: wordlesstech.com

GE’s AffinityTM turbofan

At a press conference with Aerion Corporation today, GE Aviation announced that it has completed the initial design of the first supersonic engine purpose-built for business jets. This new engine class, revealed today as GE’s AffinityTM turbofan, is optimized with proven GE technology for supersonic flight and timed to meet the Aerion AS2 launch.

The Affinity is a new class of medium bypass ratio engines that provide exceptional and balanced performance across supersonic and subsonic flights. The Affinity integrates a unique blend of proven military supersonic experience, commercial reliability and the most advanced business jet engine technologies.

GE’s Affinity is a twin-shaft, twin-fan turbofan controlled by a next generation Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) for enhanced dispatch reliability and onboard diagnostics. It is purposefully designed to enable efficient supersonic flight over water and efficient subsonic flight over land, without requiring modifications to existing compliance regulations. The engine is designed to meet stringent Stage 5 subsonic noise requirements and beat current emissions standards.

GE’s Affinity features:

• Efficient performance throughout the full flight envelope with a high-altitude service ceiling of 60,000.
• An advanced twin-fan with the highest bypass ratio of any supersonic engine.
• A special, non-augmented supersonic exhaust system.
• A proven engine core adapted from GE's commercial airline portfolio with billions of successful and reliable hours of operational service.
• A durable combustor with advanced coatings for sustained high-speed operation. 
• Advanced acoustic technology designed to meet or exceed regulatory requirements.
• GE’s additive design & manufacturing technologies to optimize weight & performance.

“In the last 50 years, business aircraft speeds have increased by less than 10 percent,” said Brad Mottier, GE Vice President and General Manager for Business and General Aviation & Integrated Services. “Instead of going faster, cabins have increased in size and become more comfortable - and range has become longer. With large, comfortable cabin, long range aircraft in the marketplace, the next step is speed . . . made possible with GE’s Affinity.”

After two years of a preliminary study, GE Aviation and Aerion launched a formal process in May of 2017 to define and evaluate a final engine configuration for the AS2 supersonic business jet. A GE Project team, supported by a dedicated Engineering team, continue to work with Aerion in a formal and gated process. The next design review is targeted for 2020, signaling the beginning of detailed design and test article production.

Aerion is collaborating with GE Aviation, Lockheed Martin and Honeywell to develop the AS2.

“Our mission is to enhance global mobility with supersonic speed, starting with business aviation, and following with successively faster and larger designs for business and commercial aviation,” said Aerion CEO Tom Vice. “GE Aviation is making this new efficient, sustainable supersonic era possible through its pioneering work on the Affinity engine.” Source: geaviation.com

Aerion AS2

Two leaders in supersonic technology, Aerion and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to define a formal and gated process to explore the feasibility of a joint development of the world's first supersonic business jet, the Aerion AS2. Over the next 12 months, the companies will work together to develop a framework on all phases of the program, including engineering, certification and production.

During the last two and a half years, Aerion advanced the aerodynamics and structural design of the AS2 through a previous engineering collaboration agreement with Airbus. Through that effort, the two companies developed a preliminary design of wing and airframe structures, systems layout, and preliminary concepts for a fly-by-wire flight control system.

In May 2017, GE Aviation announced an agreement with Aerion to define a supersonic engine for the AS2. The latest announcement with Lockheed Martin further positions Aerion as the leader in the nascent sector of civil supersonic aviation.

Aerion Corporation of Reno, Nevada, was formed in 2003 to introduce a new era of practical and efficient supersonic flight. Over more than a decade, Aerion has developed and demonstrated advanced wing technology in conjunction with NASA and other leading aeronautical institutions. This research includes breakthrough work in supersonic natural laminar flow, the key enabling technology behind the AS2 business jet.

The 12-passenger AS2 is expected to fly at a maximum speed of Mach 1.4 over water, and, where permitted by regulation, at speeds approaching Mach 1.2 without a sonic boom reaching the ground. Thanks to its unique supersonic natural laminar flow wing, the aircraft is expected to achieve long range (LA to Paris) and efficiency at supersonic and subsonic speeds. Once fielded, it will reduce trans-Atlantic trips by as much as three hours, enabling business leaders to fly roundtrip between New York and London in a day.

In November 2015, Aerion announced a fleet order from fractional aircraft fleet operator Flexjet for 20 AS2 aircraft. Aerion expects the AS2's first flight in 2023 and certification in 2025. Source: prnewswire.com

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES & SPECIFICATIONS

Source: www.aerionsupersonic.com