Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Wednesday September 25 2019, @05:38PM   Printer-friendly
from the thump-not-boom dept.

Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd

Quieter, Faster, Stronger: The Next Jet Age Is Coming

Human flight is on the verge of a second renaissance, with new technology ushering in an age of faster and quieter passenger jets. Although the supersonic Concorde jet launched over 40 years ago, commercial flight speeds have stagnated (and even regressed) since then. But new breakthroughs from NASA and jet startups show that innovation is finally returning to air travel.

NASA is working on quiet supersonic tech that is able to muffle the inevitable sonic boom to a "soft thump." At the same time, they've found new technologies that can reduce noise from existing aircraft by over 70%, potentially improving the quality of life near airports and reducing noise complaints. Meanwhile, three US startups are working to revive commercial supersonic travel, with lighter and stronger materials, a quieter design, and cleaner and more efficient engines. They hope to deliver their first jets to the airlines by the mid-2020s.

In 1976, the Concorde premiered as the world's first supersonic commercial jet, and for the next 27 years, it limped along as a cautionary tale of innovation gone sideways. The plane was extremely loud at even normal speeds, especially during takeoff and landing, but its ear-splitting sonic booms were completely intolerable.

Public opposition to the noise led the FAA to preemptively ban supersonic flight over land, effectively imposing a speed limit of Mach 1 (or 767 mph) across the country.*

The speed limit meant that the Concorde could only go supersonic on transoceanic flights, dramatically restricting its potential market. Limited routes, inefficient engines, excessive weight, and a $15,000 ticket price combined to doom the project, and it went out with a whimper (not a boom) in 2003.

The Concorde was probably never going to succeed, but the FAA made a big mistake by banning all supersonic travel in an attempt to address the noise problem. By imposing a speed limit instead of a noiselimit, the FAA killed research and investment that could have developed quieter supersonic tech.

There has been innovation in air travel since the 1970s, but it's all been about cutting costs, rather than improving the product. That has created huge benefits for consumers, and flying today costs half of what it did back then.

But this has also meant slower flights for basically everyone. Today, the fastest commercial jet is still the workhorse Boeing 747, which maxes out around Mach 0.8 (roughly 660 mph). But most jets won't fly anywhere near their top speeds, because flying slower saves on fuel. Even adding a couple minutes to a flight can add up to major savings for a big airline, and customers just don't care about a few extra minutes.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1) by wArlOrd on Thursday September 26 2019, @10:15PM

    by wArlOrd (2142) on Thursday September 26 2019, @10:15PM (#899324)

    I'm reminded that passengers are called "self loading cargo" for a reason