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monsBAY. JULY 7i 110
SUPERSONIC JETLINER Should America
build a supersonic jetliner capable of 2,000
miles per hour? That question is being dis
cussed by industry and government officials
and is the subject of congressional hearings.
An artist's conception snows what such a
plane might look like as passengers get
ready to board her. (UPI Telephoto)
Problems in Operating High
Speed Jet Airliner Discussed
By ROBERT J. SERLING
Washington (UPI) Should
America build a supersonic
Jetliner capable of 2,000 miles
an hour?
That question is being dLs
' cussed by industry and gov
ernment officials and is the
- subject of congressional hear
ings.
- The following questions and
answers describe the problems
involved in designing and op
erating a transport that could
go from New York to Paris in
three hours:
Q.-Ii there reallr a need
lor such an aircraft?
A.-From a purely competi
tive standpoint, yes. Britain is
SB
reported well along on super
sonic transport design, France
and West Germany are said
to be considering a joint sup
ersonic project and Russia is
known to be striving for .what
would be the ultimate in com
mercial air travel. The U.S.
cannot afford to let one or
more foreign countries beat it
to supersonic jetliners. Wheth
er there is any real public
demand for airliners that fast
is another matter. If enough
people indicate they'd -pay
money for 2,000-mile-an-hour
flights, the plane will be built.
Q.-How much has the U.S.
done toward a "super-jet?"
A.-At least three American
manufacturers - Lock heed,
Boeing and Convair - have
done considerable advance
planning, both on supersonic
technical problems and eco
nomics. Lockheed has a super
sonic jetliner design on paper
and claims "we know how fast
it will go, how far and how
high it will fly, and how
many passengers it will car
ry." Boeing and Convair are
at about the same stage,
which means a prototype
could be built and tested by
1965. But Douglas, another
of the industry giants, is wary.
Douglas points out that U.S.
airlines can't afford super
sonic jets at present because I
they still have financial and
operational problems to solve
with subsonic jetliners. Doug
las believes the predictions
that super-jets are "only live
years away" are unrealistic
and gives 1970 as a more logi
cal target date.
Q Will they be expensive?
A.-The most expensive com
mercial planes in history. The
research and development
costs of just a prototype have
been estimated at a minimum
of $75 million and a maxi
mum of $1 billion. President
Charles Thomas of Trans
World Airlines says the actual
production model will carry a
price tag of about $18 million
- three times more than the
Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8.
The super-jets also will be
bigger and heavier - 350,000
to 600.000 pounds, compared
to the DC-8's 276,000.
Q.-Who'll par for the re
search?
A. -That is a question which
is being thrashed out in Con
gress. Governments like Bri
tain and Russia are subsidiz
ing supersonic transport de
velopment, and virtually
every aviation official in this
country says we must do like
wise. But there are two pos
sibilities to ease the financing
problem: (1) If Congress, ap
propriates the necessary funds
for pushing full development
of the B70 supersonic bomber,
it would solve many of the
problems to be faced by the
passenger planes; (2) A sug
gestion, by President Robert
Six of Continental Airlines
that the Federal Government
subsidize the research and de
sign work, and be repaid I
through royalties on the sale
of production models.
Q.-Would a supersonic )t
be built like the current jets?
A.-They not only won't be
built like them but they may
not even look like them. Some
of Boeing's and Lockheed's
suggested drawings resemble
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futuristic rocket ships mora
than airplanes. For one thing,
they will be built out of stain
less steel and or titanium
rather than aluminum. At
(about 1,600 miles an hour)
the temperature on the lead
ing edge of the wing would be
300 degrees Fahrenheit; at
Mach S (2,000 miles an hour)
it would be more than 400
degrees. Present aluminium
alloys won't take such heat
and would develop metal fa
tigue quickly. The supersonic
jet also may require entirely
different controls and wing
structure. Pushing a com
mercial jet through the skies
at 50,000 foot altitudes and
speeds of 2,000 miles an hour
may involve problems for
which modern aeronautical
e n g I neering presently has
only theoretical solutions.
Q.-Would passenger accom
modations be different?
A.-Possibly. For example,
some engineers believe the
super -jets won't have any
windows. The possibility of a
window blowing out at 50,000
feet is frightening. But to
prevent claustrophobia In a
windowless airliner it has
been suggested that passen
gers could watch takeoffs and
landings on a closed-circuit
television screen mounted lit
the eiibln. Another casualty
of the supersuuic age might be
the full course meuls now
served un transatlantic flights.
It would be hard to serve 200
passengers on a two or three
hour flight, and snacks may be
the menu on the super-jets.
Q.-Will the tuper-Jett need
more take off and landing
room?
A.-Probably. A Boeing
sludy shows that they may re
quire 12,000-foot runways for
take-offs - and that presents a
real problem. There Is only
one airport In the United
States with a runway that
long - Shcpnrd Air Force Base
in Wichita Falls, Texas, used
by both military and' civil air
craft. Q.-How about the noise
problem?
A.-This will be a major
headache, Present supersonic
engines on military planes arc
even noisier than the sub
sonic jetliner power plants
which already have stirred up
resentment and protests.
There is no technical break
through in sight on noise sup
pression. Furthermore, joint
Boeing and ' National Aero
nautics and Space Adminis
tration (NASA) tests show
thai large supersonic aircraft
cause ground level sonic
booms along their flight
paths. Some scientists warn
that supersonic Jetliners may
be able to fly only over-water
routes, and that the sonic
boom phenomenon would ban
such trips as New York to Los
Angeles. It Is lioniewhal diffi
cult to map a transcontinental
flight plan that would avoid
completely passing over popu:
luted areas.
Q.-Could supersonic a I r
craft fit into today's air traf
fic control picture?
A.-A NASA report answers
it this way: "Once a super
sonic aircraft Is airborne, it
must fly along a precisely
controlled flight path with
little or no delay, it must
rely heavily on automatic
flight control and stabiliza
tion systems, and rapid auto
matic traffic control and
weather forecasting over the
entil e route." In other words,
the present air traffic control
system couldn't handle super
sonic traffic In any volume.
It is hoped that by 1070 the
system will be almost entirely
automatic, but It Is possiblu
that we could have the air
plane without the means to
operate it.
Q.-Could the tuper-Jeti be
used on short trips, say from
New York lo Chicago?
A. Kxperla any there will
b no supersonic trips under
2,000 miles which pretty well
limits the prospect of such
travel within the United
Stales. Only about 25 per
cent of today's long-range air
trips are over land areas, with
75 per cent Involving train
ncenn flights. Rut Interconti
nental travel still would pre
sent a sizable market fur such
planes. Doelng estimates the
potential sales at 50 planes
per year.
Q.-If there are THAT many
problems, whal'i the use ol
spending millions and even
bill ions on the project?
A.As President Sltmi'l Tip
tan of the Air Transport as
sociation said: "Whoever does
hulld a good supersonic trans
port will he In a position to
dominate Ilia air limits i( Uie
world." Tipton puinUi out thai
using largely Aiimilcniibulll
airliners, foreign carriers
have cut lliu U.S. shure of the
tiunsnlliintlc travel market
from 70 per cent to leas than
per cenl. If a foreign reun
ify achieves supersonic travel
before wn do, Us suhslillted
airlines could hurt us badly
both In prestige and profits."
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