MAJOR projects to cut flights from London to New York City down by half are gaining speed – and could become a reality sooner than you think.
A number of supersonic ideas have emerged in recent years in a bid to be crowned the “son of Concorde”.
6
Concorde was the last supersonic service to run more than 20 years ago.
Its final journey ran from John F. Kennedy International Airport in NYC on October 24, 2003.
So could one of these supersonic ideas take off and bring back the heyday of speedy air travel?
The Sun looks at some of the projects underway…
Boom Supersonic XB-1
6
Boom has been seriously ramping up testing this year for its XB-1 trijet.
The company intends for the tech to eventually pave the way for its very own Boom Overture supersonic transport airliner.
Boom wants to make London to NYC more affordable than Concorde in 3.5 hours.
Five flight tests have already been carried out so far.
If tests are successful a supersonic airliner carrying between 64 and 80 passengers could be available from 2029.
Creators want the aircraft to reach Mach 1.7 (around 1,300 mph).
Exosonic
6
Exosonic’s effort puts a lot of focus on noise.
One of Concorde’s issues was the sonic boom that made it much louder than ordinary flights.
Exosonic says its aircraft are designed with a special sonic boom shaping technology to essentially “mute” these levels of sound.
It claims that the sonic boom is made so much softer that, by the time the sonic boom reaches the ground, it sounds no louder than a car door being shut.
Their plan is to carry 70 passengers, cutting current journey times in half.
Exosonic is hoping to launch in the early to mid 2030s.
Spike S-512
6
Spike Aerospace is positioning itself at the luxury end of supersonic travel.
Instead of small cabin windows, the jet will feature a panoramic view delivered by high definition displays.
Its proposed S-512 will only have space for a maximum of 18 passengers.
And the firm has also put emphasis on noise reduction.
But it’s not clear when Spike Aerospace intends to take to the skies.
Lockheed Martin X-59
6
Lockheed Martin is no stranger to flying as a leading defense and aerospace manufacturer.
In January, the firm reveal revealed the X-59 an experimental aircraft designed to quiet the sonic boom, working alongside Nasa.
The pair have carried out a number of key ground tests so far this year.
Its first test flight was planned to take place in 2024 but with less than three months to go until the end of the year there hasn’t been any updates on exactly when this may happen.
Remembering Concorde
THE CONCORDE was the first supersonic passenger-carrying luxury airplane.
Two decades ago the Concorde took its first-ever flight.
It became supersonic in 1969, flying passengers from New York to London in less than three hours.
It was the only aircraft in the British Airways fleet that required a flight engineer.
Concorde needed unsustainable amounts of fuel and created very loud sonic booms.
Then, in July 2000, a horror accident saw 113 people killed when an Air France Concorde ran over a small piece of metal while taking off from Charles de Gaulle Airport.
It caused the tyre to explode and the engine to ignite.
A year after the horrific crash, 9/11 majorly affected passenger numbers.
Ultimately a combination of these events led to its downfall.
By 2003, Air France and British Airways announced they would be retiring their fleet of Concorde planes.