Richard Lugg in stealth mode

Hypermach website is gone, but Richard Lugg is still working on hypersonic passenger plane...

Richard H. Lugg, the CEO of HyperMach Aerospace Industries and SonicBlue Aerospace has been working to make hypersonic planes built around an electric turbine core. Lugg claims to be finishing the design and engineering of what will be a radically different powerplant that is based on proven technologies.

Lugg expects to have an operating prototype of the hypersonic engine in 2019. They have a subscale prototype of the airframe in design and engineering.

The hybrid power technology are developing will be more fuel-efficient than turbofan and turbojet engines, and allow the aircraft to be lighter and quieter as well. The current aircraft design has evolved into a 36-passenger, twin-engine design able to cruise at Mach 5.5 with a range of 9,600 miles. The first flight of the full-scale prototype is planned for 2025, followed by certification in 2028.

In 2016, HyperMach was planning to fly an unmanned scale model of the HyperStar in late 2018. This flight vehicle will be flown in supersonic corridors so it can be tested at speeds up to Mach 5. In 2016, the U.S. military started expressed interest in this unmanned scale vehicle.

Sister company SonicBlue was busy developing and testing the critical technology built into the SSBJ’s 76,000-pound-thrust H-Magjet 5500-X hybrid turbofan ramjet engines. The engine was going to use a superconducting turbo power core ring to generate the aircraft’s high electrical power requirements.

“The first engine stage produces more than 10 megawatts of power, driving the electromagnetic compressor and bypass fans,” he noted. “There are five-turbine stages in H-Magjet, all producing multi-megawatts of power.”

They were developing an ion plasma injection combustor to provide the highest efficiency and performance in combustion for significant thrust gains. By electrically atomizing and controlling the ionization to the point of fuel combustion and a controlled flame front powered by an electric arc field with electricity directly from the engine, thrust improvement along with significant emissions reduction is gained.

In 2016, they claimed to have completed final detail design of the first stage turbine core for testing.

A full engine run is scheduled for 2019. In 2016, Lugg said they were working with new industry partners and hiring team members for the superconducting turbine core.

Another effort has continued more quietly, led by Richard H. Lugg, the CEO of two closely related firms, HyperMach Aerospace Industries and SonicBlue Aerospace Inc. Lugg described to AOPA his effort to achieve hypersonic passenger travel in 2013, describing a powerplant built around an electric turbine core. The company website has been pulled offline, and Lugg explained in a Dec. 19 telephone interview that the site was taken down “because we moved into stealth mode” to focus on finishing the design and engineering of what will be a radically different powerplant, though one, he said, that is based on proven technologies.

Lugg said his twin companies have formed partnerships with big-name aerospace firms that will be disclosed in time, and all operations have now been consolidated in the United States. He said he also has had discussions with three operators, including one airline and two corporate charter firms.

The present focus is on the hot section of the engine, and he expects to have an operating prototype of the powerplant in 2019. As for the airframe, “We have a subscale flight vehicle that’s in design and engineering now,” Lugg said. “We’re pretty excited about that vehicle.”

While the other supersonic contenders aim for speeds slower than the Mach 2 Concorde, which retired from service in 2003 having proved economically nonviable, Lugg’s twin companies are still aiming to surpass Mach 5, with a first flight of the full-scale prototype planned for 2025, followed by certification in 2028. Lugg said the hybrid power technology his firms are developing will be more fuel-efficient than turbofan and turbojet engines, and allow the aircraft to be lighter and quieter as well. The current aircraft design has evolved into a 36-passenger, twin-engine design able to cruise at Mach 5.5 with a range of 9,600 miles, Lugg said.

Lugg said the companies working to create a new generation of supersonic passenger aircraft are part of a close-knit community, and while rivals, the various efforts also complement each other by contributing to the realization of a long-sought goal.

“Everyone kind of knows everyone. I think it’s a good thing,” Lugg said. “Overall growth in the industry … that’s really what it’s about.”

https://zerohurt.blogspot.com/2017/05/hypermach-at-pivotal-stage-for-its-mach.html

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