Quote:
Originally Posted by Llarry
Supersonic Airliner - Part II (or is it Part VII?)
Now BOOM! is promising a new supersonic airliner. So many people have promised a new and viable supersonic airliner over the years that it's easy to be skeptical. One interesting aspect, though, it that American, United and Japan Airlines have signed up (whatever precisely that means).
The whole package includes the Overture aircraft and a Symphony engine to power it. Some parameters:
Cruise speed: Mach 1.7 and altitude: 60,000 feet
Range 4,250 nautical miles (7,850 km)
Passengers: 64 to 80
The engine is a non-afterburning unit, so that Mach 1.7 is a supercruise speed. Interesting.
The cost to develop the aircraft and the engine to power it has to be staggering; thus a lot of my skepticism. The Wikipedia article mentions a total investment so far of $150 million, which sounds far short of what would be required.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boom_Technology |
Four engines and only 80 passengers. This will be the modern Concorde.
It won't be finacially viable, but it will attract attention and maybe even get some people to pay the huge ticket price.