7 ms·

Great idea, but even with optimistic assumptions it will require a lot of capital. Something in order of SpaceX $100 mln to get first commercial plane.

rdl 11y ago
We live in a world right now where interest rates are bouncing off zero and sometimes going negative. Capital is probably the least limiting factor here, assuming there's a viable plan and clear market.
- yxhuvud 11y ago
  The world is only awash in capital if you can convince people you can repay them.
Dwolb 11y ago
$100M would be a steal! FYI the Dreamliner was estimated to cost more than $12B to develop.
spaceflunky 11y ago
> We're building our prototype now—and will fly late next year. Will fly late next year? Where have I heard that one before...
- jandrese 11y ago
  A brand new advanced composite supersonic jet flying in a year's time? Color me skeptical. There are literally millions of things that need to be designed for this, and many of them will be bleeding edge. And this is from some tiny startup? A line like that sets off some big flashing red lights for me. Either they're incompetent and have grossly underestimated the amount of work needed to complete this, or it's a scam.
  - azernik 11y ago
    Not quite. According to [1], what they'll be flying is actually a one-third-scale prototype, which I'd imagine is a lot easier to build. And they've already been going for two years. The real issue that I'm not seeing addressed is capital. No investors listed anywhere. [1] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-21/this-aerospace-company-wants-to-bring-supersonic-civilian-travel-back http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-21/this-aeros... EDIT: Forgot to actually include the link.
    - jandrese 11y ago
      That link didn't make me feel much better. They're planning to "tweak an off the shelf engine for supersonic speed". When I hear off the shelf engines, I think turbofans, but no amount of tweaking is going to make a turbofan work at supersonic speeds. It's possible they can get some military grade afterburning turbojets from somewhere, but it's not something you can buy off of the shelf. Their webpage has a bunch of guys standing around what looks like a Vietnam-era jet engine. Also, if they're planning to have something flying in 20 months, they should be beyond the cardboard and plywood mockup phase of development. The more I see about this company the more I think it's a scam. For comparison, the Concorde took about 21 years to develop. Granted, it was a massive clusterfuck, but they also had to solve a lot of issues along the way.
      - jasonwatkinspdx 11y ago
        > but no amount of tweaking is going to make a turbofan work at supersonic speeds Sure they can. It's the inlet's job to slow the flow to subsonic. Turbofans have been used on supersonic military aircraft since the 1960's. Go read about intake ramps. Then learn about diverterless supersonic intakes. You're yelling scam pretty loud for someone that clearly doesn't know basics of the topic area. Edit: My guess is the engine they're standing in front of is a JT8 of some flavor, which have been heavily used by both military and commercial aircraft.
        designtofly 11y ago
neurotech1 11y ago
For comparison: Tesla's first business plan stated they'd need $30m in capital to get the Roadster into production. It was closer to $300m before they started production deliveries.

rdl 11y ago

We live in a world right now where interest rates are bouncing off zero and sometimes going negative. Capital is probably the least limiting factor here, assuming there's a viable plan and clear market.

yxhuvud 11y ago
The world is only awash in capital if you can convince people you can repay them.

Dwolb 11y ago

$100M would be a steal! FYI the Dreamliner was estimated to cost more than $12B to develop.

spaceflunky 11y ago

> We're building our prototype now—and will fly late next year. Will fly late next year? Where have I heard that one before...

jandrese 11y ago
A brand new advanced composite supersonic jet flying in a year's time? Color me skeptical. There are literally millions of things that need to be designed for this, and many of them will be bleeding edge. And this is from some tiny startup? A line like that sets off some big flashing red lights for me. Either they're incompetent and have grossly underestimated the amount of work needed to complete this, or it's a scam.
- azernik 11y ago
  Not quite. According to [1], what they'll be flying is actually a one-third-scale prototype, which I'd imagine is a lot easier to build. And they've already been going for two years. The real issue that I'm not seeing addressed is capital. No investors listed anywhere. [1] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-21/this-aerospace-company-wants-to-bring-supersonic-civilian-travel-back http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-21/this-aeros... EDIT: Forgot to actually include the link.
  - jandrese 11y ago
    That link didn't make me feel much better. They're planning to "tweak an off the shelf engine for supersonic speed". When I hear off the shelf engines, I think turbofans, but no amount of tweaking is going to make a turbofan work at supersonic speeds. It's possible they can get some military grade afterburning turbojets from somewhere, but it's not something you can buy off of the shelf. Their webpage has a bunch of guys standing around what looks like a Vietnam-era jet engine. Also, if they're planning to have something flying in 20 months, they should be beyond the cardboard and plywood mockup phase of development. The more I see about this company the more I think it's a scam. For comparison, the Concorde took about 21 years to develop. Granted, it was a massive clusterfuck, but they also had to solve a lot of issues along the way.
    - jasonwatkinspdx 11y ago
      > but no amount of tweaking is going to make a turbofan work at supersonic speeds Sure they can. It's the inlet's job to slow the flow to subsonic. Turbofans have been used on supersonic military aircraft since the 1960's. Go read about intake ramps. Then learn about diverterless supersonic intakes. You're yelling scam pretty loud for someone that clearly doesn't know basics of the topic area. Edit: My guess is the engine they're standing in front of is a JT8 of some flavor, which have been heavily used by both military and commercial aircraft.
      - designtofly 11y ago

neurotech1 11y ago

For comparison: Tesla's first business plan stated they'd need $30m in capital to get the Roadster into production. It was closer to $300m before they started production deliveries.