Spike Aerospace is very excited to unveil the latest update to the Spike S-512 Supersonic Jet, a stunningly elegant, sleek and innovative business jet that will sweep passengers to their destinations at supersonic speeds. Flying 450 mph faster than any other civilian jet, the Spike S-512 will enable customers to do more and enjoy more out of life. London will be just 3 hours away from NYC – making day trips for business possible. Or Paris to Dubai for shopping and entertainment and back home in time for dinner.
The Spike S-512 interior features the luxurious Multiplex Digital cabin where passengers can enjoy beautiful panoramic views outside the aircraft, a movie, maps, images or a presentation. With room for up to 18 passengers, customers can work or relax in comfort and style with amazing views of the world.
“Flying supersonic is clearly the future of aviation” said Spike CEO & President Vik Kachoria. “It makes the world smaller and more accessible. For any competitive global business, cutting flight times in half will have significant value. But for people who have busy global lives and want to spend time with the people they love, the Spike S-512 Supersonic Jet will be a necessity.”
Spike S-512 Design Updates
If you have been following the Spike S-512 over the past three years, you will notice significant differences in the design and specs. The original design was developed in 2013 and was just one concept we were exploring at the time. Since that conceptual rendering, our engineers have been focused on aerodynamic analysis and design optimization to meet three requirements: safety, performance and cost-effectiveness. 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 most noticeable change to the aircraft design is that the wings are now a modified delta wing. According to Senior Engineer Dr. Anutosh Moitra “the new delta wing of the S-512 delivers high aerodynamic efficiency and improved flight performance in both low-speed flight and supersonic cruise. The highly swept leading-edge reduces wave drag and consequently reduces fuel burn and increases range.”
We’ve also modified the tail to reduce drag and improve aircraft control in supersonic conditions. “Improved stability characteristics of the new S-512 design allowed us to eliminate the horizontal tail resulting in further reduction of drag and weight,” adds Dr. Moitra.
Spike S-512 Design Process
Every aircraft has to be designed to meet specific mission requirements including range, number of passengers, speed, payload, high performance (fighter jets), fuel efficiency and cost. Unfortunately, there are always trade-offs. If you have high performance, you typically don’t have fuel efficiency. If you have carry a high number of passengers you lose out on speed or range. These trade-offs have to be juggled to design an aircraft that can be engineered, manufactured and sold at a price customers will pay for. The engineers spend a lot of time coming up with solutions and then seeing how that impacts the other flight characteristics. The sales team then explores the trade-offs with customers to gauge market requirements and potential.
That is exactly the process that the Spike S-512 Supersonic Jet has gone through. As we continue our engineering efforts, there will likely be additional changes to the aircraft that optimize flight and performance characteristics. The latest design meets at the intersection of engineering, business requirements and market demand for an incredible supersonic business jet.
Additional Details & Updates
In the coming weeks, we’ll talk more about the reduction in sonic boom, improvement in range and other improvements that have been made.