Economics
Billionaire's Supersonic Jet Advances With Factory Plans, Airbus
- Bass-backed Aerion seeks U.S. plant site for business aircraft
- `Realistic road map' seen for private plane faster than sound
Aerion, the supersonic-jet maker backed by Texas billionaire Robert Bass, plans to choose a manufacturing site during the first half of next year as it targets delivering the first faster-than-sound business aircraft in 2023.
The timeline unveiled Monday fleshes out how Aerion and partner Airbus Group SE intend to build a civilian plane capable of trans-sonic travel, a niche left vacant since the retirement of the Concorde in 2003. The team has made preliminary designs for a carbon-fiber wing structure, fuselage, landing gear and a fuel system, among other components.