Supersonic cargo

In the past, many aerospace leading countries have made an attempt to introduce supersonic
aircrafts. They were the pinnacle of engineering with every part of the aircraft highly engineered
to be as aerodynamic and as less drag inducing as the typical aircraft of its age. In that era,
people were amazed by speed and thus bringing life to supersonic passenger aircrafts. However,
many concerns have led to its downfall, which is why it is impossible to travel at supersonic
speed as a civilian. Supersonic aircrafts were very loud with their sonic booms and they cost far
too much to run for any fleet owner to consider maintaining it. Our group has decided to design a
plane that can serve a useful purpose in our modern era. We are planning to restore the legacy
supersonic aircrafts but this time to design it with modern technologies such as carbon fibre
composites and high strength alloys. This aircraft is going to fulfil emergency cargo
requirements such as medical emergencies, military applications and high value cargo deliveries.
These examples require shorter delivery times to the designated locations. For example, a case of
medical emergency would be to transport donor organs to a patient in another continent. A
conventional plane would take about 6-7 hours at its top cruising speed to reach New York from
London. However, using a supersonic aeroplane would significantly reduce the trip time to about
2 hours. This type of high speed deliveries could revolutionise the air cargo industry. Another
example could be of military applications where a supersonic cargo plane could transport
multiple UAVs to a critical location and carry out time dependent tasks effectively.

Supersonic aircrafts have been constructed to be very narrow, which allows it to easily pierce
through the compressed air at high mach numbers. We are aiming to increase the size of the
fuselage to increase cargo capacity and at the same time achieve high mach speeds. Since this
aircraft is designed to be long, we would have to construct the stringers out of aluminium and the
fuselage skin of carbon fibre composites. This will allow us to reduce weight significantly and
while having better tensile strength than all aluminium fuselage. To give an idea of how strong
and light carbon fibre composites are compared to an aluminium 7000 series, a comparison table
has been provided in figure below.

This aircraft is going to be designed with a pointy nose to allow the heavy supersonic aircraft to
pierce through the air. The sketch of the most common hypersonic aircraft is provided in Figure
1, however this is a basic sketch with measurements assuming a viable value providing adequate
lift and speed for the plane and its cargo. As shown, the plane will be equipped with four turbojet
engines, most likely similar to the ones equipped by the concord, Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus
593. The part of the aircraft will most likely be made of nickel and titanium alloys to withstand
the extreme loads under extreme temperatures. Nickel alloys are mostly preferred due its nature
of resisting extreme heat and also being corrosive resistant. Nickel alloys are widely preferred in
the aerospace industry due to its phenomenal creep resistance properties. Some special ceramics
coatings are also sprayed on the alloys to further help in resisting the heat produced by the
engine.

In this design, we have chosen a delta wing which provides more lift as well as aerodynamic
efficiency. Having a thin wing produces greater lift at a lower speed, making landing
challenging. Throughout the aircraft, from the wing to the nose and the fuselage to the vertical
stabilizer, every part is designed with perfect aerodynamics, reducing drag. The longer fuselage
increased the fineness ratio, which resulted in less drag. In order to develop the best supersonic
cargo aircraft, some concentration needs to go to the lift-to-drag ratio.

This aircraft will cruise at Mach 3.7, which appears to be the most efficient speed for a SST
(Supersonic transport) based on comparisons of comparable aircraft. At cruising speed, the flying
range is 16,000 km (8,700 miles). It is estimated that the time will be 3 hours and 45 minutes,
including takeoff and landing. The minimum cruising altitude for supersonic flight is 12,800 m
(42,000 ft), according to FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation). Similar aircraft were evaluated,
and a cruising height of 21,300 m (70,000 ft) was chosen. The payload weight in this supersonic
aircraft is based on 3-4 crew members weight plus the cargo weight. The mission fuel weight is
going to be the sum of the fuel reserve and the fuel needed for the trip scheduled. Because the
aircraft may occasionally require additional fuel to loiter or land in a different area, a portion of
the fuel supply is set aside for this purpose.

This aircraft would be a way to go back to supersonic transport. After the retirement of the
Concorde, the demand for supersonic aircrafts has decreased (excluding the military sector). An
aircraft like this can really help different types of sectors in saving lives, helping the people in
need and also used for military purposes to defend their countries against all threats.