How to make a supersonic transport viable

[Dr Jekyll]

Option 3 would be my preference. The other two sound unnecessarily technically ambitious.

[Dr Jekyll]

The noise level of Concorde wasn't out of line with most other airliners at the time it was introduced, some US airports looked at tightening noise regulations to keep Concorde out but found it would keep their existing customers out as well . Incidentally if Concorde had remained in production the very next airframe onwards would have dispensed with afterburners.

[Dr Jekyll]

Mave said:

Dr Jekyll said:

Incidentally if Concorde had remained in production the very next airframe onwards would have dispensed with afterburners.

That's not really true is it? I assume you're referring to Concorde - B, that was a totally different aircraft which didn't get beyond concept studies.

We are talking second order hypotheticals here as to when exactly it might have been produced if Concorde production had continued. But it was planned to be the next off the line, and it wasn't a to be totally different aircraft, it was just to have a few aerodynamic mods and a modified engine and would use most of the same production tooling, In any case the point I was making was that it clearly would be possible in principle to have an SST without afterburners.

[Dr Jekyll]

The model B proposal included a modified engine design expected to be 25% more powerful, so more powerful without afterburner than the existing engines were with.

[Dr Jekyll]

Equus said:

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, but knowing Eric to be something of a space exploration fanatic, I'm surprised that he's quite as negative as he is about a 'startup' manufacturer's capability to deliver an SST in this world of SpaceX, Tesla, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, et al.

The World changes, and there is plenty of evidence that such high-tech 'disruptors', with sufficient financial backing, can be successful in the face of the established multinationals and Government organisations that we're used to, in these sectors.

I think the difference is that the successful startups have come up with new technology.

Boom just seem to be saying 'let's build Concorde again but a bit smaller, with modern materials and bigger windows'. Not really a disruption.