S-21
supersonic business-jet aircraft

    The Sukhoi design bureau is the development of supersonic passenger aircraft - small (business) S-21 and big (passenger) S-51 - concept started in 1989 on the initiative of Designer General M.P. Simonov. The work was carried out under the direct supervision of Deputy Designer General M.A.Pogosyan.
    The Sukhoi design bureau philosophy was to design a supersonic aircraft capable of linking any two capitals or two major industrial centers of the world via a non-stop supersonic flight or the one with a single intermediate landing. The task required a service range of 7,400-9,000 km at a cruising speed of Mach 1.8-2.2. And the S-21 was to transport five to eight people while the S-51 could carry 30 to 50 passengers.
    During the 1990s, a number of aerodynamic configurations of a two-, three- and four-engined supersonic aircraft were developed. In particular, the S-21 G business jet was designed in cooperation with the Golfstream company (US) specializing in business jet designing. The aircraft was to be powered by prospective British engines whose feasibility was being assessed then by the Lyulka-Saturn company together with Rolls Royce.
    In further Russian programs, domestic Aviadvigatel D-21 and Soyuz VK-21 engines were considered. Large-scale work is underway to improve their characteristics, decrease their emission and lower their noise.
    During the implementation of the program, a lot of tests in TsAGI and SibNIA wind tunnels were completed. This ensured optimization of the aircraft's aerodynamic configuration and minimization of the shock wave intensity as well as making it at cruising speed less perceptible to people on the ground. This is caused by the ban imposed by several countries on flying at supersonic speed. An aircraft is to be quite economical both in supersonic and subsonic modes.
    Currently, the Sukhoi design bureau continues thorough work on the variants of the S-21 supersonic bizjet. Talks with interested parties are underway to set up an international consortium to design a supersonic administrative aircraft meeting the requirements to the second-generation supersonic passenger aircraft.

• Design features. Performance

References and Credits:

1. Supersonic business aircraft S-21. / Aerospace herald № 4 2000 /
2. «Aviapanorama», 1-2 1998, № 4 1999.
3. «NVO», № 20 (143) 28.05 - 3.06.1999 г.
4. Aircrafts of Russia
5. S-21 / NIIEAP /
6. Sukhoi S-21 Supersonic Business Jet / Venik's Aviation Page /