Aircraft / Aria T152 Transonic
A JStream Exclusive Original Concept Aircraft
The Aria T152 is a narrow-body, medium to long range twin-engine jet airliner produced by Aria Aircraft Company, a commercial aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Denver, Colorado USA, and Dublin, Ireland.
Development and Launch
The Aria T152 was developed as part of Aria Aircraft’s Slingshot Project, a research program convened in 2017 that was tasked with designing and building a 150 to 200 seat twinjet narrowbody airliner that could compete against the likes of the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX.
Several different designs were considered; the concept design that was ultimately selected was dubbed the Slingshot 182, a 182-seat airliner that would become the Aria T182 Transonic. Slingshot 182 in turn spawned two derivatives, one of which was called Slingshot 152 - a shortened-fuselage, 152-seat twinjet. (The other was Slingshot 212, a stretched-fuselage variant that went on to become the Aria T212 Transonic.) Slingshot 152 was designed to replace Boeing 737-700 and Airbus A319-100, and to compete directly against their next generation variants, the Boeing 737 Max 7 and Airbus A319neo, respectively.
Slingshot 152 was greenlighted and launched in 2021, when it was officially renamed as the Aria T152.
By 2023 the variant had been further rebranded as the Aria T152 Transonic, to highlight the aircraft’s ability to safely cruise at close to the sound barrier - 643 knots / 1192 km/h, or Mach 0.965 - and to safely fly beyond the sound barrier at up to Mach 1.06 (707 knots / 1309 km/h) for up to 75 minutes at a time. The Aria T152 Transonic received its final type certifications by US and European authorities in late May 2024, and was granted special approval to fly supersonic up to Mach 1.06 for as much as 75 minutes while operating over open seas, to avoid the possibility of emitting sonic booms while flying overland.
Introduction
The first Aria T152 Transonic - alongside its two sibling variants, the baseline Aria T182 Transonic and the stretched-fuselage Aria T212 Transonic - were all officially introduced together at special delivery ceremonies held at Aria Aircraft’s facilities in Denver-DEN and Dublin-DUB on 20 June 2024.
The Aria T152 is currently available as a baseline passenger airliner, as well as in a business jet configuration known as the Aria T152b Transonic Bizjet. There are no plans to create a cargo or combi version of the T152, as its fuselage length is not considered ideal for a production freighter or an aftermarket conversion program.
Having said that, the T152 has still earned a reputation for efficiency and reliability that, alongside various production and/or operational problems that have hampered its competitors, has helped to create a healthy backlog of orders for the aircraft.
Reference: none - fictional.
Stats
Stats displayed are for the Aria T152 Transonic twinjet aircraft.
Name: Aria T152 Transonic
Final Assembly Lines: Sacramento-MHR, California USA; Shannon-SNN, Ireland
Role: Twin Engine Narrowbody Jet Airliner
First Introduction: 20 June 2024
Status: In Production; In Service
Cockpit Crew: Two
Seating:
Airliner Standard: 152 - 44 Business + 108 Premium Economy
Airliner Alternate 1: 162 - 60 Business + 102 Premium Economy
Airliner Alternate 2: 154 - 16 Business + 138 Premium Economy
Airliner All Economy: up to 189 Standard Economy
Airliner All Business Recliner: up to 108 Business
Airliner All Business Flat Bed: up to 44 Business
Bizjet Standard: up to 30 Business
Engines: 2 x Sonata Type 14B
Cruise Speed:
Transonic: Mach 0.965 (643 knots; 1192 km/h; 740 mph)
Supersonic (up to 75 minutes): Mach 1.06 (707 knots; 1309 km/h; 813 mph)
Range: 4200 nmi (8000 km; 4971 mi)