Originally Posted by
tuna hp
Yes! Exactly like that. I have read that late versions of the Aerostar could break 260 knots. If a similar plane was being designed from scratch today, using modern composites and related design techniques, using the latest updated piston engines or possibly new piston diesels if they meet the hype, shouldn't they be able to build a "modern Aerostar" that could do 280 knots?
I'm no aerodynamicist, but I think it could be possible.
I have been told that, all else equal, for a given airframe which is assumed to have a relatively constant coefficient of drag across speeds until it gets into the transonic regime, doubling the available power should increase maximum speed by 26%. The Aerostar twin that could make 260 knots from a pair of 350hp engines was built during an era when the fastest single-engine comfortable four-seater planes sporting a single engine could make, what, 220 knots? MAYBE 230 knots? Whereas today, with modern technology, they can built a 350hp single with a big 4+1 passenger cabin that can do 260 knots. It seems to me that leveraging those same advances in materials and aerodynamics, they should be able to build an Aerostar-like pressurized 6 seater that could do ~280 knots. And they should be able to sell it for about half the price of turboprop singles.
You forgot one tiny detail: certification process.
That's the real b
tch.
Building a new, certified twin from scratch is a massive financial undertaking. And what's the market for it?
Not big enough, I'm afraid.