NASA's 'Quiet Supersonic' Plane Could Change Airports Forever

Quiet commercial craft, about time, I think this is great news and I would welcome this having lived near airports. Guess we'll have to see how it goes.

Separating the "supersonic" from the "boom" is one of the big priorities for the aeronautics side of NASA. In NASA's 2019 budget request, a "quiet supersonic" plane stands out, both for the challenge and the immediacy of the goal. NASA hopes to fly a test plane by 2021. But what would such a feat mean for the rest of us? Turns out, such a jet could make for very speedy travel, the quiet kind, for everyday destinations.

There was, once, a supersonic airliner, built by a British and French partnership, and operated primarily by British Airways and Air France. Called the Concorde, it could make the flight from New York to London in 3.5 hours, under half the time of a normal, subsonic airliner. And that flight path was great for supersonic travel, since the Atlantic Ocean between those destinations, like the deserts beneath NASA's X-1 test, is both vast and devoid of people.

Still, the plane had to fly near people to land at airports, and wherever it did, people roared back with complaints. Here’s how the New York Times described the sound of the Concorde in 1977:

Nasa's quiet super sonic plane

a reply to: BotheLumberJack

They've been working on this for some years now.

the models that have been tested look awesome.



www.nasa.gov...



www.nasa.gov...

a reply to: BotheLumberJack

Lockheed was selected to build a demonstrator.

a reply to: grey580

It's a nice looking plane, great wingspan dynamics.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Thanks for that, it looks like they're right on schedule with this and ready to go.

OP you should hang out in the aviation forum more and look around some while in there perusing the threads. you may enjoy some of the topics and what you come across. some of the bigger threads are particularly engrossing.

Never lived next to an airport but spent several hundred nights in hotels so close I could smell the burnt fuel. Would have loved to fly on the Concorde but never happened. Can’t wait to see where this goes. Go NASA! a reply to: BotheLumberJack

a reply to: BASSPLYR

Thanks will do, been checking that section out more lately.

Thought they had the aerodynamics sorted back in the 60,s?

Planning first test by 2021. Sounds like we've got a long way to go before we actually see a commercial airliner with this technology.

Wind tunnel testing underway..again....
NASA Prelim tunnel test