The common case study: Lockheed design of a supersonic cruise vehicle

The objective was to compare the characteristics of SSTs designed for the same mission by Lockheed, McDonnell Douglas, British Aerospace (U.K.), Aerospatiale (France), and the USSR. This comparison was to be used to calibrate parametric design studies of the tradeoff between SST direct operating cost (DOC) and noise levels at the FAR 36 certification points. The guidelines for this common case study were to design an aircraft with the following mission: payload 23 247 kg (51 250 lbm), range - 7000 km (3780 n. mi.), and cruise Mach number - 2.2. Field length was constrained to 3505 m (11 500 ft). Other airfield constraints and fuel reserves were also specified, but no noise constraints were applied.