Important Innovations

  American Airlines Orders 20 SSTs                                             Source:  Boom Supersonic Traveling Faster Than the Speed of Sound Business is booming at the moment for Colorado-based aviation company Boom Supersonic.  American Airlines has just joined United and Japan Airlines in placing substantial orders for Boom's Overture SST passenger plane.  Overture uniquely flies faster than the speed of sound on ecofriendly Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). American has ordered 20 Overture SSTs with the option of buying 40 more.  Boom already has 70 SST orders from United Airlines and Japan Airlines.  The SST will enable flights from New York City to London in 3.5 hours as opposed to 5.5 hours currently or Tokyo to Seattle in 4.4 hours rather than the current 8.3 hours.  For air travelers, those flight times would be ...

  American Airlines Orders 20 SSTs from Boom Supersonic                                             Source:  Boom Supersonic Traveling Faster Than the Speed of Sound Business is booming at the moment for Colorado-based aviation company Boom Supersonic.  American Airlines has just joined United and Japan Airlines in placing substantial orders for Boom's Overture SST passenger plane.  Overture uniquely flies faster than the speed of sound on ecofriendly Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). American has ordered 20 Overture SSTs with the option of buying 40 more.  Boom already has 70 SST orders from United Airlines and Japan Airlines.  The SST will enable flights from New York City to London in 3.5 hours as opposed to 5.5 hours currently or Tokyo to Seattle in 4.4 hours rather than the current 8.3 hours.  For air travelers, those f...

  New Supersonic Aircraft Design                                             Source:  Boom Supersonics Flying Green at Supersonic Speeds Colorado-based Boom Supersonic is getting ready to offer a new, supersonic passenger aircraft called the Overture.  The company has unveiled a production ready version of the SST and has committed to having it fly on 100% sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), meaning it will fly eco-friendly green at supersonic speeds.  It promises flights from New York City to London in 3.5 hours as opposed to 5.5 hours or Seattle to Tokyo in 4.4 hours versus 8.3 hours now.  The Overture is a look at the exciting future of air travel at speeds capable of cutting travel times nearly in half. It's designed to comfortably carry 65 to 80 passengers in its spacious, large, windowed cabin. SST Design The new SST design l...

  Boom's Supersonic Aircraft Overture Unveiled                                                  Source:  Boom Something New & Incredibly Fast in the Sky Colorado-based Boom Supersonic may be the first aviation company to bring back super-fast, supersonic flying that ended twenty years ago with the demise of the Concorde.  At the very recent 2022 Farnborough International Air Show in the UK, Boom unveiled its latest design for its ultra-sleek SST, the Overture.  The vehicle will go into service in 2029 and fly at twice the speed of today's commercial aircraft.  It will reach speeds of Mach 1.7 or 1,100 mph over the water and have the capacity to cut passenger travel time in half. More than 600 routes around the world are planned by Boom.  The likely cost of a roundtrip seat will be 75% less than the Concorde's $...

  Boom's Supersonic Aircraft Overture Unveiled                                                  Source:  Boom Something New & Incredibly Fast in the Sky Colorado-based Boom Supersonic may be the first aviation company to bring back super-fast, supersonic flying that ended twenty years ago with the demise of the Concorde.  At the very recent 2022 Farnborough International Air Show in the UK, Boom unveiled its latest design for its ultra-sleek SST, the Overture.  The vehicle will go into service in 2029 and fly at twice the speed of today's commercial aircraft.  It will reach speeds of Mach 1.7 or 1,100 mph over the water and have the capacity to cut passenger travel time in half. More than 600 routes around the world are planned by Boom.  The likely cost of a roundtrip seat will be 75% less than the Concorde's $...

  Supersonic Plane Faster Than the Speed of Sound                                                  Source:  NASA Could be Dawn of Global Supersonic Passenger Travel NASA and Lockheed Martin have designed what could be the supersonic jet of the future - the X-59 QueSST, meaning quiet supersonic technology.  The needle-nosed, ultra thin aircraft breaks the sound barrier without releasing sonic booms.   It has been designed to minimize shock waves down to the sound of a car door slamming down the street.  The minimal sound is critical for SST flights to resume  over land in the US.  Because of sonic booms, the FAA banned commercial SST flights over the US in 1973. A New Design of Aerodynamic Elegance According to NASA and Lockheed, they went back to the basics of aerodynamics to design an aircraft that flies...

  United Buying At Least 15 SSTs from Boom Supersonic                                                     Source:  Boom Green, Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Flying United Airlines just announced that it will purchase at least 15 supersonic jets from Denver-based Boom Supersonic.  This deal heralds the return of ultra-fast, supersonic flights, which ended in 2003 when British Airways shuttered its Concorde transatlantic flights.  Boom says its Overture SST will be capable of flying from New York City to London in 3&1/2 hours, cutting the flight time in half.  The deal is contingent on Boom clearing United's rigorous safety, operating and sustainability requirements. Boom and Green Flights United has an option to buy 35 additional aircraft from Boom.  The SST will be rolled out in 2025, go through rigorous ...

  Briefings on Exciting Flying Concepts                                  Source:  Amazon Kindle  ASIN : B093J89VF5 Now Available on Amazon and Kindle Edward Kane's latest book "The Future of Flying" has just been published by Amazon and Kindle.  It provides journalistic briefings on the most exciting flying concepts under development including hypersonic and supersonic passengers planes, zero emissions aircraft, flying cars, wing suits, jet packs and more.  To take a look go to  https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B093J89VF5&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_SNQCDFM84D9D40FAZ5PJ      I co-authored the book with Ed.

  Spike Aerospace's S 512                                                                        Source:  Spike Aerospace Getting to Places in Half the Time The Concorde supersonic jet was decommissioned 18 years ago.  Now there is a new entry in the SST travel space.  The Spike S 512 is the ultimate in flying.  Travelling at supersonic speeds without sonic booms, the jet is quiet and can cut travel times in half.  Now under development by Spike Aerospace headquartered in Boston, the jet will fly at Mach 1.6 and will travel 720 km/h faster than any other civilian aircraft.  An example: this SST will enable passengers to fly from New York City to London in just three hours.   Luxurious Flying The Spike S 512 is a luxury business SST jet....

Supersonic Flights Across the Earth Source:  Virgin Galactic Flying Public at Supersonic Speeds NASA is teaming up with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space company to develop high speed technologies for supersonic air travel.  The purpose is to make high Mach speed vehicles for the travelling public here on Earth to get from "Point-to-Point" in vastly reduced times.  NASA and Branson have finalized their collaboration by signing a Space Act Agreement.  Vision and Goal Branson's vision for transporting the public at Mach speeds is a "global network of spaceports, transcontinental supersonic space flights and delivering passengers anywhere in the world in a couple of hours".  To achieve this, the aircraft will actually be a spacecraft. Technological First The envisioned SST would be a spacecraft that would launch into space from its departure point, then re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and arrive at the destination point for landing...

Lockheed Martin Goes Supersonic Source:  Lockheed Martine Supersonic Design Concept Travelling Faster than the Speed of Sound Lockheed Martin just unveiled its conceptual design for a sleek, supersonic passenger jet that will travel at the speed of Mach 1.8   It will be able to carry up to 40 passengers and is yet another sign that commercial passenger jet travel is about to become super fast. The Quiet Supersonic Technology Airline The aircraft is called the Quiet Supersonic Technology Airline.  The design moves forward into the commercial passenger realm Lockheed Martin's work with NASA on the X-59 Supersonic X-Plane, which is now being tested. The aircraft doesn't create the intense sonic boom that the Concorde did when it crossed the sound barrier several decades ago.  The boom banned the Concorde from land routes and undermined its economic feasibility.  The new SST both for NASA and commercial travel is designed to reach supersonic speeds with...

FAA Re-writing the Rules Source:  NASA Supersonic Concept Flying Beyond the Speed of Sound At the Paris Air Show, FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell said the United States is changing the regulations to enable testing and the reintroduction of supersonic flights for passengers.  This is a major milestone for the return of civilian supersonic flights in the United States. New Generations of SST For the flying public and aviation enthusiasts, this is exciting news because there are many innovative supersonic aircraft projects well underway.  Companies like Boom Technologies and Aerion, as well as NASA, are working on next generation SST aircraft to replace the Concorde which ended flights in 2003.  The FAA's plans will give these companies a more efficient process to make SST travel a reality again. Elwell added the FAA and US Department of Transportation are committed to safe and environmentally sound R&D of supersonic aircraft.

Weapons at Hypersonic Speeds Source:  Russia Hypersonic Missile Test From Supersonic to Hypersonic Arms Race Russia is on a mission to bring the development of supersonic cruise missiles to the hypersonic level. Hypersonic flight starts at five times the speed of sound or one mile per second.  The news comes  from CEO Alexander Leonovo of Russian weapons manufacturer Tactical Missiles Corporation.  He's developing the Onyx supersonic anti-ship missile that can be fired from subs and frigates. The Onyx travels at 2&1/2 times the speed of sound with a 400 mile range.  Leonovo says his focus for Russian defense is to bring missile speeds to hypersonic and increase their operational range. Incredible Speeds Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a flight test center to inspect a MIG 31 jet fighter armed with the hypersonic Kinzhai dagger missile. The missile is capable of carrying nuclear weapons.  The missile can travel at Mach 10 f...

The World's Fastest Plane Source: Hermeus Artist Rendering Hermeus - New US Concept that's VC Funded and Under Development This may be the flight of your dreams.  London to New York in 90 minutes instead of 7 hours plus.  This concept supersonic jet innovated by the US aerospace company Hermeus is now under development and funded by venture capitalists.  The future of flight is supersonic and this vehicle is designed to fly at Mach 5 or 3800 mph.  For more on this breaking news innovation, go to Important Innovations Collection: London to New York in 90 Minutes : World's Fastest Plane: New Hermeus Supersonic Aircraft Source:  Hermeus Artist Concept Money Secured by US Company to Develop the...

Readying for Hypersonic Takeoffs Source:  Image of Hypersonic Vehicle Mach 5 Air Flow and Turbulence An intensive research effort is underway to make hypersonic and supersonic travel faster, safer, quieter and more efficient.  It's being led by a team of aeronautical engineers at the University of  Buffalo.  They are using high performance computing to understand and 3D simulate the air flow around aircraft travelling at Mach 5+.  That's very important because of the turbulence high speed travel generates for the vehicle.  Their research could lead to a new class of aircraft designs.  For a news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: Moving to Hypersonic Speeds : Understanding Air Flows Around Hypersonic and Supersonic Vehicles Source:  University of Buffalo 3D computer simulation of turbulence at ...

Boeing Goes Supersonic Source:  Aeriion's As2 supersonic passenger jet Boeing Invests Big in Supersonic Tech Company Aerion Boeing is teaming up with a Nevada based company Aerion on the next generation of supersonic jets. Boeing announced it will provide engineering, manufacturing and test flight resources to bring Aerion's AS2, now a prototype, to market.  Boeing is also making a large financial investment. The amount wasn't disclosed. Cruising at 1,000 MPH+ The companies say the passenger jet will be capable of flying at Mach 1.4 or 1,038 mph/1,671 kmh. That is double the speed of current commercial jets.  The SST could get you to your destination in half the time.  Boeing says the time for supersonic flight has come.  The last supersonic flight in the US was in 2003 by the Concorde. The SST's were sidelined because of the noise from their sonic booms and high operational costs.  The new generation of supersonics are designed to be much quiet...

NASA'S X-59 QueSST  X-PlaneTakeoff:  SST with No Boom NASA and Lockheed Martin just reached an important milestone on their quieter supersonic X-plane.  They've completed the initial design on a low boom SST passenger jet.  Why is that significant to all of us?  How would you like to hop on a plane and go from NYC to LA in 2 hours?  Or NYC to London in 3 hours.  That's what the X-plane is all about.  Some aviators are calling it "Son of Concorde", after the famed Anglo-French SST that was decommissioned 15 yrs ago. But this one has NASA expertise. Supersonic Getaways on QueSST NASA calls it the X-59 QueSST.  The Quiet Supersonic Transport that travels at 1100 mph. They just crossed a key threshold to make supersonic flight over land a real possibility.  They've completed a preliminary design review for the low boom flight experimental plane, the X-Plane. Looking and Sounding Good NASA thinks it has what it needs....