Commercial supersonic aircraft and associated systems and methods

Abstract

Commercial supersonic aircraft and associated systems and methods. A representative commercial supersonic aircraft includes a fuselage configured to carry a crew and between 20 and 60 passengers, a delta wing mounted to the fuselage, and a propulsion system carried by at least one of the wing and the fuselage, the propulsion system including a plurality of engines, at least one variable-geometry inlet, and at least one variable-geometry nozzle.

1 - 33 . (canceled) 
     
     
         34 . A commercial supersonic aircraft, comprising:
 a fuselage having a cabin configured to carry a crew and passengers, the fuselage further having a non-articulating nose;   a flight deck housed in the fuselage and having a synthetic vision display positioned to operate as the primary flight crew display for views in a forward direction;   a wing connected to the fuselage; and   a propulsion system carried by at least one of the wing and the fuselage.   
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 34  wherein the fuselage is configured to carry a crew and a maximum of from 20 to 60 passengers. 
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 34  wherein the fuselage is configured to carry a crew and up to 100 passengers 
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 34  wherein the flight deck has a fixed position relative to the fuselage. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 34 , further comprising at least one camera positioned to view an environment external to the fuselage, and wherein the synthetic vision display is operably coupled to the at least one camera. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 38  wherein the at least one camera includes multiple cameras, and wherein individual cameras are positioned at different points of the aircraft to obtain different views of the environment external to the fuselage. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 38  wherein the at least one camera includes multiple cameras, and wherein one camera is positioned to provide a back-up function for another camera. 
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 38  wherein the at least one camera is operable in the visible spectrum. 
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 38  wherein the at least one camera is operable outside the visible spectrum. 
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 34  wherein the synthetic vision display includes multiple display screens. 
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 34  wherein the synthetic vision display includes a virtual reality display device. 
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 34  wherein the synthetic vision display is configured to display an image of an environment external to the fuselage during all flight segments of the aircraft. 
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 34  wherein the synthetic vision display is configured to display an image of an environment external to the fuselage during fewer than all flight segments of the aircraft. 
     
     
         47 . The system of  claim 46  wherein the synthetic vision display is configured to display an image of an environment external to the fuselage during at least one of a take-off maneuver or a landing maneuver. 
     
     
         48 . The system of  claim 34  wherein the flight deck does not include a windshield. 
     
     
         49 . A method for operating a commercial supersonic aircraft, the supersonic aircraft having a fuselage with a cabin configured to carry a crew and passengers, the method comprising:
 presenting, to a pilot at a flight deck housed in the fuselage, a synthetic forward view of an environment external to the fuselage, without a nose of the aircraft articulating; and   receiving aircraft control instructions from the pilot, based on the pilot's visual access to the synthesized view of the environment external to the fuselage.   
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 49  wherein presenting the synthetic forward view and receiving aircraft control instructions are performed while the aircraft carries a crew and a maximum of from 20 to 60 passengers. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 49  wherein presenting the synthetic forward view and receiving aircraft control instructions are performed while the aircraft carries a crew and up to 100 passengers. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 49  wherein presenting the synthetic forward view and receiving aircraft control instructions are performed while the flight deck has a fixed position relative to the fuselage. 
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 49 , further comprising receiving inputs for the synthetic forward view from at least one camera positioned to view an environment external to the fuselage. 
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 53  wherein the at least one camera includes multiple cameras, and wherein individual cameras are positioned at different points of the aircraft to obtain different views of the environment external to the fuselage. 
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 53  wherein the at least one camera includes multiple cameras, and wherein one camera is positioned to provide a back-up function for another camera. 
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 53  wherein the at least one camera is operable in the visible spectrum. 
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 53  wherein the at least one camera is operable outside the visible spectrum. 
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 49  wherein presenting includes presenting at multiple display screens. 
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 49  wherein presenting includes presenting at a virtual reality display device. 
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 49  wherein presenting the synthetic forward view and receiving aircraft control instructions are performed during all flight segments of the aircraft. 
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 49  wherein presenting the synthetic forward view and receiving aircraft control instructions are performed during fewer than all flight segments of the aircraft. 
     
     
         62 . The system  claim 61  wherein presenting the synthetic forward view and receiving aircraft control instructions are performed during at least one of a take-off maneuver or a landing maneuver.