Remember that the biggest technical challenge to passenger supersonic flight is hacking Congress. People really don't like plutocrats in private jets cracking their windows and scaring their dog.
Boom XB-1 First Supersonic Flight [video]
311–320 of 545 posts
Re: Boom XB-1 First Supersonic Flight [video]
#312Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a long way from a supersonic passenger flight, isn't it?
Endless pessimism, even in the face of evidence to the contrary is a hallmark of HN. Thank you for continuing the tradition. May you never hold out hope for anything positive in the future.
It's not pessimism to correctly describe reality.
Re: Boom XB-1 First Supersonic Flight [video]
#313Earlier quoted context omitted.
Noticeable is certainly a way of putting it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_sonic_boom_tests >However, in the first 14 weeks, 147 windows in the city's two tallest buildings, the First National Bank and Liberty National Bank, were broken. If a sonic boom is "noticeable", that's one thing. But the problem is that even from cruising altitude they're shockingly loud. If the sonic boom is merely bearable, th…
Right, and making an improvement is a big part of Boom's marketing. (It's in their name?!) I'm surprised I didn't hear them make any comments about it in the video during the flight as they crossed the sound barrier each time. Unless I missed it?
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Re: Boom XB-1 First Supersonic Flight [video]
#314Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not that I care as much these days, but would I have liked routine Mach 2 flight that my company would have paid for when I was traveling a lot? Absolutely. But that wasn't in the cards. And the relatively fewer flights I take today for relatively longer trips in general, I mostly look at paying an extra $5K and think "I could do a lot more interesting things with that money than be more comfortable for some hours" (…
I guess the target market is those who feel about the opportunity cost of another $5,000 the way you and I do about another $5.00
For companies with executives that travel a lot (visiting different offices or store locations or lots of in-person client visits across the country) it might be literally saving them money. And even if it doesn't save them money, the prestige and the fact that the people who approve the purchase are the same people who get to use it help justify the cost
Re: Boom XB-1 First Supersonic Flight [video]
#315Earlier quoted context omitted.
Blind optimism is just as obnoxious as blind pessimism - both are based on ignorance. Boom still hasn't solved the 2 hardest problems after nearly a decade. Currently regulations prohibit supersonic flight over land. It's a total guess whether or not they'll be able to overcome this, but I remain skeptical both of their noise claims and their ability to overturn legislation. Also they don't have a real plan for an en…
Disagree that blind optimism is just as obnoxious. Blind pessimists are much less likely to reach beyond what's currently considered possible. We need irrationally optimistic folks.
Irrationally optimistic people will tell you they have a device that defies the laws of physics (I mean hard laws, like conservation of energy or the speed of light), and investors will give them money. I have seen this happen enough times I'd actually have to stop to think of the correct number.
The point is both are disconnected from reality. What we need are people that aren't full of shit. There is a place between "everything is impossible" and "everything is possible" that works better for getting things done.
Re: Boom XB-1 First Supersonic Flight [video]
#316I know nothing about Boom. Why is this impressive? We've achieved supersonic for passengers before. Are we meant to be interested just because someone is taking up the mantle again, or is there some new design that makes it impressive?
Concorde was a large program backed by two governments and designed and built by nationalized aerospace companies. This is a strictly private affair, so no tax dollars behind it, just private funds. The end goal is also to be much more efficient than Concorde, which was a pretty brute forced effort which multiple large afterburning engines. They hope to make the production model capable of supercruise.
Concorde didn’t use afterburner during cruise. There’s a lot of discussion from pilots and engineers in a long thread https://www.pprune.org/tech-log/423988-concorde-question-7.h... describing the actual flight profile.
Re: Boom XB-1 First Supersonic Flight [video]
#317I haven't seen anyone directly address it in the comments here (or in the video): was an audible sonic boom noticeable on the ground during today's test flight?
Noticeable is certainly a way of putting it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_sonic_boom_tests >However, in the first 14 weeks, 147 windows in the city's two tallest buildings, the First National Bank and Liberty National Bank, were broken. If a sonic boom is "noticeable", that's one thing. But the problem is that even from cruising altitude they're shockingly loud. If the sonic boom is merely bearable, th…
This doesn't say anything about today's flight though?
Re: Boom XB-1 First Supersonic Flight [video]
#318Remember that the biggest technical challenge to passenger supersonic flight is hacking Congress. People really don't like plutocrats in private jets cracking their windows and scaring their dog.
Over land, sure, but over the ocean, I don't really see the problem? Just wait until you're clear enough of the coast and then floor it.
Re: Boom XB-1 First Supersonic Flight [video]
#319Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is that special? The military already has the F-22 which can supercruise just fine. Or the Eurofighter if your military isn’t the USAF. And also, fuel cost is probably the last concern of an Air Force. Maybe logistics of supplying fuel in an actual war is important, but I think the money for buying the fuel itself is basically zero compared to maintenance and getting the plane in the first place.
F22 isn't produced and fuel is more about range than cost.
The point is they know how to do it and they have the designs. Supercruise is also more about the design of the whole system and not just the engines.
Re: Boom XB-1 First Supersonic Flight [video]
#320Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a long way from a supersonic passenger flight, isn't it?
Endless pessimism, even in the face of evidence to the contrary is a hallmark of HN. Thank you for continuing the tradition. May you never hold out hope for anything positive in the future.
Yes! Where did enthusiasm go in this world? It's easy to be a critic but when blanket pessimism is the default answer its very tiresome reading the comments.