The Boom Overture

Just 2 months ago, a test aircraft for a supersonic airplane in development completed its first flight. This is a big success, as it is the first step toward supersonic air travel, something that has not happened since the Concorde took its last flight in 2003. Although the test aircraft is ⅓ the size of what the real aircraft will be, and only went 270 mph, it passed all expectations that the company set. According to the company’s CEO, although flying faster will use more energy, by using sustainable aviation fuel, which the jet should be able to run on, the more energy needed to power the aircraft should not cause more impact on the environment. Also, the CEO raises the point that because the aircraft will fly faster than conventional jets, it will be able to do more flights and cover more distance in less time. This will allow airlines to have less airplanes, as they can potentially use the same one for multiple routes. 

I think that supersonic flight is a great idea. It is still largely unknown by many people, but has the potential to make a great impact. Although supersonic travel was attempted before with the Concorde, it was just too big, loud, and expensive to be commercially viable. Through new technology and development, it is possible we can make the Boom Overture a success and change air travel as we know it. Also, through supersonic flight we can fix many problems that air travel is plagued with. First of all, by flying faster, we can travel distances faster, allowing people to be more likely to travel, due to it taking less time. Through faster air travel, we can also travel farther, cutting down the time it takes to go places even more. Although there are some advantages, which I have outlined above, there are also some drawbacks. First of all, all aircraft that go over the speed of sound (approximately 750mph), create a sonic boom. This sonic boom is very loud, and if supersonic travel becomes common, we have to find a way to decrease the boom, as the added noise could have detrimental effects, especially in places where there are a lot of people. As most airports are close to major cities, supersonic jets taking off and landing will cause unnecessary noise pollution. Another drawback is the cost. It will cost billions of dollars to test and build supersonic jets, and they will certainly cost significantly more than current airliners. These costs could cause airlines to raise prices for tickets on supersonic jets, causing supersonic travel to be less accessible. This reason played a large part in the downfall of the concorde. Finally, supersonic jets could only be used over oceans, due to laws in place that do not allow supersonic air travel over land, due to the reasons I highlighted above. 

In conclusion, although there are still many obstacles we will have to overcome before we make supersonic air travel commercially successful and viable, we are already well on our way to making something that has only been dreamed of a success.