The United States is advancing its efforts to introduce civil supersonic flight nationwide, more than twenty years after the Concorde aircraft was retired.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced last week that the United States is “taking a critical step” to bring supersonic flight to American skies.
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US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that progress has been made to operate these planes safely and without sonic boom.
“Restoring supersonic flight over land is not just about speed, it’s about unleashing American innovation and ushering in a Golden Age of Travel,” Duffy said.
“…we are working at lightning speed to safely enable the next quantum leap in aviation technology and deliver an exciting new way to fly to the American public.”
Supersonic commercial airliners are designed to fly faster than the speed of sound, dramatically reducing travel times between distant cities.
The best-known supersonic aircraft, the Concorde, was operational from the 1970s until its retirement in 2003, due to high operating costs and safety concerns.
Its capabilities allowed travel from London to New York in approximately three and a half hours.
The FAA says they have done extensive work with the Civil Aviation Organization, NASA, and industrial/academic partners to ensure this new era of supersonic flight is safe and comfortable.
“Advances in aerospace engineering, materials science, noise reduction and new operating concepts will eliminate the old sonic boom,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.
“This means we can ultimately repeal the 1970s ban on supersonic flights over U.S. territory while minimizing the impact of noise on residents of communities along the route and near airports.”
The FAA hopes to repeal existing regulations that currently prohibit civil aircraft from operating at levels above Mach 1 (supersonic) by next year.
They say they will introduce a new “performance-based regulatory framework” that ensures aircraft safety.
