Aerion has revealed a new three-engine configuration for its long-gestating supersonic business jet project, now renamed the AS2 and featuring a larger cabin and more range. The Reno, Nevada-based company revealed the new configuration at EBACE in Geneva, although it did not appear to be any closer to securing a manufacturing partner for the airplane.
The original Aerion jet would have flown with two Pratt & Whitney JT8Ds, but the company now concedes that these engines, first operated on the Boeing 727 and MD-80 jetliners, aren’t quiet or environmentally friendly enough to make them a viable choice for a future supersonic bizjet.
