Aerion Enters New Test Phase

Aerion Corporation says the next phase of testing toward its ultimate goal of facilitating the creation of a supersonic business jet will get under way at Edwards Air Force Base in November. The company will mount a prototype wing section under a NASA F-15 to see how it works. In a podcast interview at NBAA 2012 in Orlando, Aerion COO Doug Nicols said there is still plenty of interest in the aircraft and lots of work going on to make it a reality.

He said Aerion has done a lot of computer modeling to determine the function of the wing while strapped to the F-15 and it's another milestone on the path to getting an actual airplane built. He said the company is sticking to its plan to work with an experienced manufacturer to build the aircraft in a partnership that shares Aerion's intellectual property. He said there is no shortage of customers but the technical work is the company's focus for now.