Soon a new generation of supersonic planes could enter the scene to cut down travel time between New York and London to three hours. This is nearly half the time it takes today. It is a project visualized by NASA and has the blessing of Donald Trump.
Daily Mail UK reports that the plane could be called 'Son of Concorde' and it will be quiet in spite of flying at high speeds. The original Concorde used to generate sonic booms when flying over cities at speeds of more than 1000 mph and the new version would eliminate that. It is expected to fly by 2021.
It will be a quantum leap
The vision of NASA has been approved in the US budget and funds have been allotted to the extent of $19.9 billion for the next year which is more than that of the previous year. A portion of this is earmarked for the 'Son of Concorde' project. This supersonic plane will be in the category of experimental aircraft and will be used to test and evaluate new technologies and aerodynamic concepts. These could, in future, be integrated into commercial applications and help America to go in for building faster planes, create jobs and reduce travel time.
NASA had announced in 2017 that it had plans to begin work on the supersonic X-plane in 2018, The activities connected with preparing the initial designs were entrusted to Lockheed Martin.
Of course, this was not the only firm and others were also were encouraged to chip in with their ideas. Sonic booms are unavoidable in aircraft of this nature and NASA hopes to maintain it at a lower limit. The first test flight could happen in 2021.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has imposed restrictions on supersonic flights over the land because of the sonic booms.
In case the noise levels are reduced, FAA could consider lifting the restriction. That would provide a boost to commercial aviation.
The original Concorde
According to History, the original Concorde was a supersonic plane developed jointly by Britain and France. Its initial flight was in 1969 and it entered service in 1976. Only limited numbers were built.
Its sonic booms, while flying over cities, was a negative point. It was withdrawn in 2003 after a crash that left no survivors. The crash happened on a Paris to New York flight when a tire burst, ruptured a fuel tank and led to a fire and engine failure.
The 'Son of Concorde' is on the drawing boards of NASA and is expected to overcome the noise problems related to sonic booms. That would ensure quiet and speedy flights to the destinations.
