Will the Supersonic Flights return in Future?

With the return of the supersonic flights in the future, the possibility of travelling with speed will be real.

Image Credits: Boom Supersonic

It was in late 1980's when the World saw an aircraft like none other, an aircraft that looked different and felt different. Yes, it was the Concorde, it was one of the only Supersonic passenger aircraft of its time, it could cover the distance between London and New York in less than 3 Hours. During those days only the elite customers could board on Concorde as the tickets would cost more than $1000.But, it was an experience like none other, the ability to fly between two cities and cover a round trip was one of the most exciting features of the Business class passengers.

It was however in 2003 that the majesty had its last flight, as there were advancements in the flight technologies and companies were concerned with different pollution contributors in our planet the services of this hyperjet had to come at an end.

Now, fast forward to 2020 an era where the companies are thinking to increase their sustainability in aviation by employing different tools and techniques, In this era of technological upgrades where the advancements in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and advanced robotics are being witnessed, expect even the Impossible to become possible in this era.

Recently there were 2 major news that had shaken the aviation industry, one was Boom Aviation partnering with Rolls Royce to bring sustainable jet engines in the future Supersonic aircraft and the other news also being Virgin Galactic partnering with Rolls Royce to bring sustainable jet engines to the fastest supersonic aircraft's in the coming times.

Now, the ambitions of both the companies are huge and with that being said the challenges are even greater, so lets explore some of the challenges to get a depth idea. Here's the List of top 3 issues which the Start-ups will be facing

1. Speed: - When the first concorde was launched it was running on unconventional fuel and engine, Concorde used a kerosene based fuel and not the ATF which powered most of the aircraft's during that time and that resulted in huge outflow of cash from company's account so the environmental impact was way more than the normal jets of that time. The engines were also special type of afterburners(a technology seen in fighter jets) So, that resulted in huge amount of noise in and around the airport. Now the question is that Which fuel and type of engine will be used in future concorde and how impactful will it be on the sustainability as being predicted by some experts. In my view the optimum fuel option could be Hydrogen, Sustainable ATF, Electricity etc.

2. Economics:- Concorde wasn't economical to the most of passengers it was only reserved for the elite passengers who were ready to pay a premium to travel between two cities. So, its assumed by default that the future Supersonic aircraft will also be costly to travel on.

3. Regulatory Issues: - Before an aircraft enters into service, it has to go through various regulatory tests and Procedures to make sure that the aircraft is safe to fly.Until the aircraft receives an approval from the top regulatory bodies it cannot enter into service. Looking upon the issues faced by the Concorde, the structure of the aircraft lost its rigidity after a few years of Operations this was due to frequent changes in the altitude which had resulted in tremendous pressure on the structure of the aircraft. Also the landing gears used to worn out after few takeoffs and landings. So, for a supersonic aircraft having a rigid structure is of utmost importance, but at the same time it should be ensured that the airplane gets regular maintenance and checks more frequently to understand the rigidity.

At the end it all matters is that the Aircraft is sustainable so that it has a lesser impact on environment as moving forward saving the Environment would be the top most priority of any Business.