Flight Physics Analysis for the FSTB-L Supersonic Business Jet

The project STORMIE (Supersonic Transport Open Research Models and Impact on Environment) addresses new concepts for supersonic passenger transport with special focus on low boom capabilities. For this purpose, three aircraft designs are set up and investigated. The first configuration, the Future Supersonic Transport Business Jet – Low Boom (FSTB-L), is a business jet designed to offer special low boom capabilities for Ma = 1.4. The second design envisages a supersonic airliner (FSTA) with a design cruise Mach number of Ma = 1.7 and the third design is a supersonic business jet (FSTB-N) designed for the same TLARs (top level aircraft requirements) as the FSTB-L but without special low boom design for benchmarking purposes. Several disciplines are brought together to converge to a consistent preliminary design. This paper reflects the flight mechanical investigations, their outcomes and influence on design, and the redesign of the aircraft to solve trim and stability issues. Special interest of this paper is on the first of three designs: a supersonic business jet (FSTB-L) in a canard configuration. Results of flight performance calculations, aerodynamic analyses and takeoff considerations are presented. This paper highlights fields of special interest within the flight mechanical analysis activities performed, which were major drivers in design process iteration loops. Those are investigations on the flight performance in cruise, the low speed characteristics of the aircraft concerning stability and a short analysis on the impacts of configuration changes for the takeoff.