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Russia’s Tu-144 supersonic passenger airliner was in operation from 1968 to 1999. Such an engine was used in early production versions of another supersonic passenger jet, the Russian Tupelov Tu-144, but was too inefficient because it needed to keep firing its afterburners to maintain supersonic cruise. This drag penalty has outweighed the efficiency of turbofans for prolonged supersonic flight in the past.Ī good compromise might be a low bypass turbofan with an afterburner, which injects additional fuel to significantly increase the available thrust, and is commonly used on military jets. Their lower exhaust speed makes them quieter, but they tend to be larger, resulting in higher drag at supersonic speeds. Higher bypass ratio turbofan engines are more fuel efficient than turbojets. The amount of this air defines the engine’s “bypass ratio”. A turbofan engine, meanwhile, derives most of its thrust from the amount of the air it accelerates with its fan blades. A turbojet produces all of its thrust from its exhaust gas when it is moving at faster speeds. The Colorado-based company is likely to choose between a turbojet and turbofan engine. You’d therefore expect Boom, which is in the prototype stage of developing the Overture, to concentrate its designs on increasing fuel efficiency. ![]() ![]() Breaking the sound barrier produces a loud sonic boom.īreaking the sound barrier also requires engines which burn through lots of jet fuel – one of Concorde’s key drawbacks and something that’s only become more contentious in recent years.
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