This month's AE presenter: Kailash Kalidoss
Date of presentation: 15-July-2019
Subject: The return of Supersonic Flight
Description: Kailash's presentation gave a brief overview of supersonic travel - what it means to consumers, the technicalities surrounding it, a history of the prestigious Concorde, its glory and shortfall. Most importantly, it captures a vision for the future, in the form of a company named BOOM which is developing next-generation efficient commercial supersonic aircraft.
Any flight performed at a speed greater than Mach 1.3 is deemed supersonic.
The Concorde was the most prestigious (and in fact the only commercial) supersonic aircraft to date. It was jointly developed by Britain and France and was in operation between 1976 and 2003. Due to operational, environmental, regulatory and design challenges, the Concorde could never scale in a big way. There were very few operational routes and its cost was exorbitant.
Following the fatal crash of a Concorde in France in 2000, and post 9/11 financial meltdown, the company, its funding, and unsustainable operations made the airplane defunct. It was pulled out of service in 2003.
There has been no replacement for this commercial supersonic aircraft to date. However, an American company named BOOM is trying to address this void in the aviation market. BOOM is capable of Mach 2.2 and is only slightly smaller than Concorde. Its design is futuristic and lighter through the usage of reinforced carbon fiber for most of its parts.
The company claims that it would operate at a per-passenger cost comparable to a subsonic business class ticket. Also, due to the better performance and a range of 4500 nm without a refuel, it opens many more routes across the globe. The traditional London to New York route that takes 7-8 hours in a subsonic aircraft can theoretically be achieved in 3 hrs. 15 min by BOOM. This 55-75 seat aircraft is looking to change aviation in the future.
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-HbJn3LAHc
