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Supersonic flight returning to US after half-century ban

forbes.com

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Re: Supersonic flight returning to US after half-century ban

#111

Post by dboreham »

4d4m wrote: post #74
smt88 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is this an exciting time for aviation? Or more specifically, why should I (a person who never spends more than $2,000 on air travel) be excited?

Increased adoption will put price pressure on traditional flights making them more affordable

Why? They already have price pressure due to some people not having enough money. If the people currently flying business class all move to SSTs, won't the airlines now have to charge more for coach seats fitted in their place because they were previously making much more profit per square area from business passengers?

Re: Supersonic flight returning to US after half-century ban

#112

Post by yieldcrv »

bearcobra wrote: post #46

On one hand I think we should applaud when regulators target the specific issue (like noise or pollution level) vs using some other metric to achieve their desired outcome. On the other hand I don’t have a ton of faith that current administration will set the targets at levels that have the general public’s interest in mind

I kind of do have that faith. Sean Duffy's reality TV career hasn't really hampered the transportation agencies

I think staff at the agencies as well as industry staff are very passionate about what they do in their respective domains, and even with the agency heads being industry plans or uncredentialed susceptible to regulatory capture, I still think I can appreciate the willingness to revisit old prohibitions in combination with modern advances.

Re: Supersonic flight returning to US after half-century ban

#113

Post by dylan604 »

27183 wrote: post #103
foobarqux wrote: post #8

0.11 pound per square foot is what is being proposed. That's 108 decibels. Which is between standing next to a lawn mower and standing next to a car horn. I don't see how anyone will tolerate that in practice. https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/db

My only experience with a sonic boom was in D.C. a few years ago when fighters were scrambled to intercept a learjet which had depressurized and everyone onboard was unconscious. I believe it ultimately crashed somewhere in VA or WV. Anyway, my windows were open and the "blast" was startlingly loud, but not like a detonation. More of a gentler push like a large fireworks explosion. It was both a loud sound and a pres…

My guessing from the couch would be they were further away than you might have thought. I was up in the mountains when a couple of fighters flew close with a boom, and it was one of the loudest things I have experienced.

Re: Supersonic flight returning to US after half-century ban

#114

Post by WalterBright »

foobarqux wrote: post #8

0.11 pound per square foot is what is being proposed. That's 108 decibels. Which is between standing next to a lawn mower and standing next to a car horn. I don't see how anyone will tolerate that in practice. https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/db

Back in the 1960s (!) the military would fly supersonic over the town I lived in. I always enjoyed the boom. I would also open the window during a thunderstorm or go sit on the porch because I enjoyed the incredible electric display and the booms.

Re: Supersonic flight returning to US after half-century ban

#115

Post by 27183 »

dylan604 wrote: post #113
27183 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My only experience with a sonic boom was in D.C. a few years ago when fighters were scrambled to intercept a learjet which had depressurized and everyone onboard was unconscious. I believe it ultimately crashed somewhere in VA or WV. Anyway, my windows were open and the "blast" was startlingly loud, but not like a detonation. More of a gentler push like a large fireworks explosion. It was both a loud sound and a pres…

My guessing from the couch would be they were further away than you might have thought. I was up in the mountains when a couple of fighters flew close with a boom, and it was one of the loudest things I have experienced.

Yeah that's entirely possible, I have no idea what their actual flight path was.

Re: Supersonic flight returning to US after half-century ban

#116

Post by dylan604 »

foobarqux wrote: post #51
gedy wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it's not continuous sound in one spot like a leaf blower is.

There is a substantial noise beyond the initial boom which is very loud even relative to the main boom. But even just a half second of a car horn going off right next to you every so often is intolerable.

> But even just a half second of a car horn going off right next to you every so often is intolerable.

You must not have a neighbor with a car whose alarm constantly goes off at random points throughout the day right outside your window. You eventually don't notice it. Speaking from experience

Re: Supersonic flight returning to US after half-century ban

#117

Post by nradov »

lokar wrote: post #109
convolvatron wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that seems very unlikely. margins are already quite thin, and the airlines are making most of their money with the higher fare tiers. if you remove some of those customers, then its entirely possible that the base fare will increase in response.

This big airlines in the US loose money overall operating flights. They make it up on loyalty programs and credit cards.

Exactly. Now they even make decisions on which routes to offer based on how likely they are to attract customers who use their branded credit cards. The analytics around this are quite sophisticated.

Re: Supersonic flight returning to US after half-century ban

#118

Post by dylan604 »

ranger_danger wrote: post #85
michaelmrose wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If supersonic flight is so expensive that less than 1% of the population can enjoy it its not clear why the rest of us ought to tolerate it

You have to start somewhere before you can build towards an economy of scale that makes it affordable. If people used your same logic about regular airplanes, we wouldn't be using them today.

I'm still waiting for Tesla's plan to come true where the rich paid for development before scaling up brings the prices down. The luxury economy of scale is about as realistic trickle down economy

Re: Supersonic flight returning to US after half-century ban

#119

Post by yborg »

This will free manufacturers to build supersonic private jets for the superwealthy to cruise over flyover America. With normal steerage air travel becoming increasingly unaffordable for the average person, I can't see airlines buying supersonic airliners given fuel costs, they couldn't fill them for what they would have to charge.

Re: Supersonic flight returning to US after half-century ban

#120

Post by throwaway85825 »

yieldcrv wrote: post #112
bearcobra wrote: post #46

On one hand I think we should applaud when regulators target the specific issue (like noise or pollution level) vs using some other metric to achieve their desired outcome. On the other hand I don’t have a ton of faith that current administration will set the targets at levels that have the general public’s interest in mind

I kind of do have that faith. Sean Duffy's reality TV career hasn't really hampered the transportation agencies I think staff at the agencies as well as industry staff are very passionate about what they do in their respective domains, and even with the agency heads being industry plans or uncredentialed susceptible to regulatory capture, I still think I can appreciate the willingness to revisit old prohibitions in c…

None of this implies any revisit will be done with the citizen in mind.
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