Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > American Airlines | AAdvantage
Reload this Page >

American announces agreement to buy up to 20 Overture aircraft from Boom Supersonic

Community
Wiki Posts
Search

American announces agreement to buy up to 20 Overture aircraft from Boom Supersonic

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Aug 17, 2022, 8:18 am
  #61  
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: CLT
Programs: Choice Hotels/FFOCUS
Posts: 7,256
I hope it works, but for now one of the stupidest things I’ve heard 🤦‍♂️
skylady likes this.
coachrowsey is offline  
Old Aug 17, 2022, 10:12 am
  #62  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: KHOU/KIAH
Programs: AA EXP | Marriott Bonvoy Titanium| Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 11,246
Originally Posted by Ghoulish
Boeing has 56,000 full time engineering staff.

Boom has 150 total staff, including administration, accounting. HR, and Public Relations.

I think it's time to cash out my HyperLoop and Theranos profits, and go all in on this.
Don't forget Bed Bath and Beyond stock on the way.
AndyPatterson and Ghoulish like this.
Antarius is online now  
Old Aug 17, 2022, 10:57 am
  #63  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: YYF/YLW
Programs: AA, DL, AS, VA, WS Silver
Posts: 5,951
Originally Posted by Hoi polloi
I guess that makes sense. It just seems like it would be easier/more cost-effective to use existing tech to push closer to .99 mach, and reap the benefit of noticeably faster transcons
Except that’s not the way physics works. Mach 0.99 takes a lot more than 16% (0.14/0.85) more energy than Mach 0.85, in part because if the speed of the airframe is Mach 0.99, there will be significant amounts of air passing the wing at more than Mach 1. For example, the airfoil effect relies on the air on top of the wing going faster than the air below the wing, creating lift. I’m a physicist, not an engineer (to say the least!), but my understanding is that a lot of the engineering in a supersonic plane is to minimize the amount of air that’s going much faster than other air to lessen this problem. But as long as you’re in the transonic regime, the energy requirements will be much higher than the marginal gain in speed. Just not cost effective unless you’re getting supersonic, where there are more than marginal gains in speed. (And, of course, if you’re using much more energy, the carbon footprint — a cost to the airline and therefore the consumer as well as the planet — is much higher; why bother for a marginal gain?)

Back to AA, they say in the press release that they only have to accept the planes if (paraphrasing) the design makes AA happy. We haven’t seen the contract, but that strongly suggests to me that AA’s commitment to this is pretty minimal. If the design comes through, AA’s got their order in and a place in line, but it doesn’t sound like it’s much skin off their back if, as expected, this isn’t flying in a commercially-viable way any time soon. And I’m sure Overture is more than happy to sell places in line for a pittance just for the press attention.
ashill is offline  
Old Aug 17, 2022, 11:00 am
  #64  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Feb 2022
Posts: 853
Originally Posted by ashill
Except that’s not the way physics works. Mach 0.99 takes a lot more than 16% (0.14/0.85) more energy than Mach 0.85, in part because if the speed of the airframe is Mach 0.99, there will be significant amounts of air passing the wing at more than Mach 1..
As they say, air is only thin when you're not moving.
Antarius likes this.
Ghoulish is offline  
Old Aug 17, 2022, 11:19 am
  #65  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Feb 2022
Posts: 853
deleted
Ghoulish is offline  
Old Aug 17, 2022, 5:07 pm
  #66  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: lax
Posts: 3,888
Should be interesting with 2 FAs!
skylady is offline  
Old Aug 17, 2022, 5:39 pm
  #67  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: KHOU/KIAH
Programs: AA EXP | Marriott Bonvoy Titanium| Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 11,246
Originally Posted by skylady
Should be interesting with 2 FAs!
it would also be interesting with 10. Both are edge case hypotheticals that aren't going to be representative of reality. A premium/expensive service isn't going to be staffed like a CR7.

Last edited by Antarius; Aug 17, 2022 at 5:46 pm
Antarius is online now  
Old Aug 18, 2022, 5:27 pm
  #68  
formerly rt23456p
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 1,210
Originally Posted by ashill
Except that’s not the way physics works. Mach 0.99 takes a lot more than 16% (0.14/0.85) more energy than Mach 0.85, in part because if the speed of the airframe is Mach 0.99, there will be significant amounts of air passing the wing at more than Mach 1. For example, the airfoil effect relies on the air on top of the wing going faster than the air below the wing, creating lift. I’m a physicist, not an engineer (to say the least!), but my understanding is that a lot of the engineering in a supersonic plane is to minimize the amount of air that’s going much faster than other air to lessen this problem. But as long as you’re in the transonic regime, the energy requirements will be much higher than the marginal gain in speed. Just not cost effective unless you’re getting supersonic, where there are more than marginal gains in speed. (And, of course, if you’re using much more energy, the carbon footprint — a cost to the airline and therefore the consumer as well as the planet — is much higher; why bother for a marginal gain?)

Back to AA, they say in the press release that they only have to accept the planes if (paraphrasing) the design makes AA happy. We haven’t seen the contract, but that strongly suggests to me that AA’s commitment to this is pretty minimal. If the design comes through, AA’s got their order in and a place in line, but it doesn’t sound like it’s much skin off their back if, as expected, this isn’t flying in a commercially-viable way any time soon. And I’m sure Overture is more than happy to sell places in line for a pittance just for the press attention.
Originally Posted by Ghoulish
Boeing has 56,000 full time engineering staff.

Boom has 150 total staff, including administration, accounting. HR, and Public Relations.

I think it's time to cash out my HyperLoop and Theranos profits, and go all in on this.
Comparing this two, it makes Baltia look like it is going to fly soon!
PES_B1 is offline  
Old Aug 18, 2022, 7:02 pm
  #69  
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Rolling Lakes Yacht Club
Posts: 4,985
Originally Posted by skylady
Should be interesting with 2 FAs!
Who are we kidding, it will be "Operated by Envoy- d.b.a. American Eagle"

I
DataPlumber is offline  
Old Aug 18, 2022, 7:20 pm
  #70  
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: BNA
Programs: HH Gold. (Former) UA PP, DL PM, PC Plat
Posts: 8,184
Originally Posted by DataPlumber
Who are we kidding, it will be "Operated by Envoy- d.b.a. American Eagle"I
The AA pilot's SCOPE clause requires that any aircraft with a max gross takeoff weight over 86,000 be flown by AA pilots. The Overture is nearly double that.
jerseytom likes this.
LarryJ is offline  
Old Aug 18, 2022, 8:26 pm
  #71  
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Arizona
Posts: 5,689
This smells so bad it is beyond vaporware. I can only imagine non refundable deposits held in some type of escrow or hedged. I suggest anyone who thinks this aircraft is possible read about Concorde development
Centurion is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2022, 6:56 am
  #72  
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 863
Rolls just pulled out of the engine development. Might signal the end of the program.
Jeff767 is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.