It has been 22 years since Concorde’s last flight, a now-retired supersonic airliner flying at a maximum speed of 1,345 miles per hour (2,179 kilometers per hour). At these speeds, you can fly from London to New York City in about three hours. The United States has long banned supersonic flights on the Land Limited Concorde route and continues to limit commercial aircraft to fly faster than they sound on land. These super fast (super loud) flights may be making a comeback today.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to reverse the 1973 ban on civilian supersonic flights, directing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish standards for supersonic aircraft noise certification. If the company can figure out how to make the plane quieter and more affordable, the decision will leave a lane for faster routes.
When the planes fly at a speed of 1 faster than the sound, i.e. about 767 miles per hour (1,234 kilometers per hour), they produce loud and explosive noises due to shock waves generated by extreme speeds. It sounds like a loud thunder that will shock people who live in cities on supersonic jets. As a result, the FAA banned non-military aircraft from supersonic flights on land, and the measure was formulated on April 27, 1973. At that time, aerospace technology was not enough to solve the noise problem; however, since then, studies have shown ways to soften the sound of supersonic flights.
Boom, a Colorado company, is working on a supersonic passenger plane called Boom Overture. Its current prototype, XB-1, is designed to fly at a speed of 1.7, while carrying 64 to 80 passengers. As the leading U.S. company in the market today, Boom naturally welcomes this decision. In late January, Boom Supersonic flew the experimental plane faster than sound for the first time. Boom has attracted interest from airlines such as American Airlines and United Airlines.
Before we are ahead of ourselves, the government has a series of rules for the reversal of the ban. Trump’s executive order directs the FAA to lift supersonic speed limits as long as the plane does not produce audible sounds on the ground to prosper. “The order directs FAA administrators to establish supersonic aircraft noise certification standards to take into account community acceptability, economic rationality, and technical feasibility,” the White House said. It also claims that the latest developments in aerospace engineering “make supersonic flight not only possible, but also safe, sustainable and commercially viable.”
NASA is developing its own solutions to soften the impact of the sound boom. Earlier this year, the agency launched the engine of its X-59 research aircraft, which flew faster than sound but was significantly less noise. “People below will hear sounds ‘hard’ rather than thriving words if they hear anything,” NASA wrote in a statement. The plane is designed to reduce the pressure changes flowing to the ground, thus reducing sound. The X-59’s engine is mounted on the top of the aircraft, reducing the amount of noise from the aircraft reaching the ground.
In addition to noise, commercial supersonic flights have also been criticized for their negative impact on the environment. Supersonic aircraft consume more fuel. Concorde burned 22 tons of fuel per hour, accounting for Boeing 747, which carries four times the passengers.
To help address negative environmental impacts, Boom said its aircraft will operate on sustainable alternative fuels. This may not completely solve this problem, as faster planes require flying at altitudes where air is thinner and drag-and-drop and heat are less. According to aerospace, aircraft emissions will be up to 20 times longer at those higher altitudes in the Earth’s stratosphere. NASA said it is also working to find solutions to these challenges.
Supersonic flights are also expensive, with high fares and expensive operating costs. For example, Concorde is not considered profitable because the cost of fuel far exceeds the profit per flight. Airlines looking to join Operation Supersonic need to find sustainable models to provide customers with faster flights.
Removing the ban may be the first step, but there is still a long way to go before the faster route takes off.
