In contrast to military projects and the civilian Concorde, Tracey's SBJ design is aimed squarely at the private sector. To make the idea feasible, Tracy and company avoided numerous technical and cost-adding obstacles by compromising. "We explicitly designed this plane to meet market requirements," says Tracy of the myriad design decisions involved.

For instance, though faster speeds are possible, the SBJ flies at a maximum of Mach 1.6 to reduce the need for costly high-temperature materials. The plane will also fly at a maximum of 51,000 feet, the same altitude as other business jets, thus bypassing the regulatory requirements for high-altitude certification. (By comparison, the Concorde flew at some 60,000 feet.)

And rather than relying on a risky prototype or an expensive, highly specialized engine, Aerion is working with Pratt & Whitney to adapt the widely used JT8D engine. That model is currently used in about a third of the world's airliners, including such well-known planes as McDonnell Douglas' DC-9, and has logged some half-billion hours of flight time. That should help reduce maintenance costs and improve the SBJ's reliability. "From a maintenance standpoint, this airplane will be much like any other large business jet," says Tracy.

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Deliveries by 2014?
Aerion, which is investing some $2.2 billion in the SBJ project, expects to announce a manufacturing partner to produce the new design later this year. That could lead to initial deliveries by 2014. "It's tempting to think of Aerion manufacturing the SBJ itself," says Tracy, given the advanced state of the design and engineering, but the company's plans to partner with an experienced manufacturer are firm. Besides the commonly used JT8D, Tracy says most of the new plane's electronic systems and manufacturing components will be similar, if not identical, to other large business jets, making the process of fabricating the supersonic similar to existing subsonics. However, with global demand for all kinds of aircraft soaring, finding a partner with excess capacity could be tricky.

If the company fails to ink a deal with a manufacturer, its order book full of eager prospective customers won't mean much. Aviation industry history is littered with grand, innovative plans that fail to take off for one reason or another. Even if the SBJ makes it to market, it could find itself with stiff competition — other manufacturers, including industry heavyweight Lockheed Martin, have expressed interest in building similar types of aircraft.

What's more, if regulations for overland supersonic flight are relaxed, something some analysts believe is not out of the question in the long-term, the SBJ's chief advantages could be eclipsed. Still, Tracy is upbeat. "By striking a balance between speed and efficiency, we really think we've hit a home run," he says.

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