Collaborate Disseminate
In history there are people whose legacy becomes larger than life. Ask anyone who built and flew the first airplane, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who isn’t at least aware of the accomplishments of the Wright brothers. In a similar vein, Chuck Yeager’s pioneering trip into supersonic territory …read more
Boeing has been awarded a US$30-million contract to develop a supersonic ramjet missile demonstrator in cooperation with the US Navy’s Air Warfare Center Weapons Division. The Supersonic Propulsion Enabled Advanced Ramjet (SPEAR) flight demonstrator wi… Continue reading Boeing to develop supersonic ramjet missile demonstrator for US Navy
Aviation startup Boom Supersonic has unveiled a fully assembled version of its demonstrator aircraft, taking an important step forward in its efforts to build the world’s fastest airliner. The company’s XB-1 is a sleek, one-third-scale prototype of its… Continue reading Boom Supersonic reveals XB-1 plane built to break the sound barrier
Between Virgin Galactic, Boom, Spike and Aerion, a new crop of contenders are springing up to pick up where the Concorde left off, putting supersonic civilian flight back on the menu after nearly 20 years without it.Continue ReadingCategory: Aircraft, … Continue reading The “perfect storm” behind Aerion’s supersonic business jet
Since the last Concorde rolled to a stop in 2003, supersonic flight has been limited almost exclusively to military aircraft. Many have argued that it’s an example of our civilization seeming to slip backwards on the technological scale, akin to returning to the Age of Sail. There’s no debating that …read more
Continue reading Boom Hopes to Reignite Supersonic Travel with XB-1
Virgin Galactic has taken the wraps off a concept for a new commercial jet capable of flying at three times the speed of sound. The delta-wing aircraft has already passed its Mission Concept Review (MCR) and the company has signed a non-binding Memoran… Continue reading Virgin Galactic enlists Rolls-Royce for Mach 3 passenger aircraft concept
While work continues on its XB-1 prototype supersonic plane ahead of a planned unveiling later in the year, aviation startup Boom Supersonic is pressing ahead with the development of its flagship model, the Overture. These efforts have today received a… Continue reading Boom Supersonic teams with Rolls-Royce on world’s fastest civil aircraft
The Bloodhound supersonic car project has bounced back from the brink of bankruptcy to set its sights on the land speed record once again. The vehicle will hit the track in October for the first time since its relaunch, with the team announci… Continue reading Bloodhound LSR supersonic car to return to high-speed testing ahead of 2020 record attempt
If you are a certain age, you probably remember the promise of supersonic transports. The Concorde took less than 4 hours to go across the Atlantic, but it stopped flying in 2003 and ended commercial supersonic passenger flights But back in the 1970s, we thought the Concorde would give way …read more
Continue reading Air-Breathing Rocket Engine Promises Future Space Planes
The history of aviation is full of notable X-Planes, a number of which heralded in new generations of flight. The Bell X-1 became the first aircraft to break the speed of sound during level flight in 1947 with the legendary Charles “Chuck” Yeager at the controls. A few years later the X-2 would push man up to Mach 3, refining our understanding of supersonic flight. In the 1960’s, the North American built X-15 would not only take us to the edge of space, but set a world speed record which remains unbroken.
Compared to the heady post-war days when it …read more
Continue reading Shushing Sonic Booms: NASA’s Supersonic X-Plane to Take Flight in 2021