[M II A II R II K]

Concorde successor AS2 takes leap forward with vast new Florida HQ

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/a...-hq/index.html

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- The race is heating up to produce the first supersonic passenger aircraft to enter commercial service in more than 50 years. US planemaker Aerion, whose AS2 jet promises to fly New York to London in 4.5 hours, is building a massive new global headquarters in Florida ahead of production beginning on the supersonic craft in 2023. --- The 8-12 passenger AS2 business jet will travel at Mach 1.4 (more than 1,000 mph), which means it could shave three and a half hours off standard journey times from New York to Cape Town, and more than four hours off trips between JFK and Singapore and JFK and Sydney.

- Aerion has already secured a domestic and international order backlog which now tops $6.5 billion and it plans to deliver 300 aircraft over 10 years of production. The AS2's first flight is slated for 2024 and the company intends to take the plane to market in 2026. The craft has a price tag of $120 million, which the planemaker thinks is a price that people will pay because of the time savings. --- The AS2 is designed to meet Stage 5 Airplane Noise Standards, the most stringent landing and takeoff noise regulations. But perhaps one of the AS2's most innovative features is its "boomless cruise" which allows the plane to fly supersonically over land without the boom striking the ground.

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