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Boom: The Fastest Passenger Airplane Ever
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NEW INFO: The Virgin Group has signed a letter of intent to buy 10 aircraft once they're built, along with providing support in the manufacturing, test, and design of the aircraft.
Looks like some startup is trying to build a supersonic passenger aircraft. They're backed by YCombinator, the most prominent Silicon Valley incubator/VC firm, but I really doubt this will get off the ground. Test flights apparently start next year. Their team includes people from Pratt & Whitney, NASA, Gulfstream, Icon, Boeing, Virgin Galactic, etc, so that inspires some faith. Today, international travel means jet-lag and days of lost productivity and family time. But imagine leaving New York in the morning, making afternoon meetings in London, and being home to tuck your kids into bed. Unlike Concorde, flying Boom is affordable—the same price as business class. This isn't science fiction—it's possible now with today's aerodynamics, carbon fiber composites, and the latest engine technology. At our hangar in Denver, we're combining jet engines and carbon fiber, advanced design software and wind tunnel tests. We're building our prototype now—and will fly late next year. First test flights will occur at Centennial Airport, with supersonic testing near Edwards Air Force Base in California. We've made key contributions to 30 new aircraft and conducted test flights to Mach 3. We've taken passenger jets from the drawing board through FAA certification. We're engineers, pilots, and hands-on builders. We're grounded in physics and push technology to new heights. |
Wonder what the demand will be.
The vast majority of the travelling populace (who will gladly choose a 3 leg flight with 20 hour stopovers if it was 10% cheaper) obviously isn't their target market. So I guess ... business travelers? I can't imagine my company paying double the price just to get me at the destination a few hours earlier. |
Boom: The Fastest Passenger Airplane Ever
Looks like Concorde.
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Originally Posted by whimike
(Post 26367733)
Looks like Concorde.
Physics dictates form. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...l#post26365265 |
Originally Posted by shuigao
(Post 26367323)
Wonder what the demand will be.
The vast majority of the travelling populace (who will gladly choose a 3 leg flight with 20 hour stopovers if it was 10% cheaper) obviously isn't their target market. So I guess ... business travelers? I can't imagine my company paying double the price just to get me at the destination a few hours earlier. |
Originally Posted by mickeydfly13
(Post 26367949)
Originally Posted by shuigao
(Post 26367323)
Wonder what the demand will be.
The vast majority of the travelling populace (who will gladly choose a 3 leg flight with 20 hour stopovers if it was 10% cheaper) obviously isn't their target market. So I guess ... business travelers? I can't imagine my company paying double the price just to get me at the destination a few hours earlier. |
Originally Posted by shuigao
(Post 26367323)
Wonder what the demand will be.
The vast majority of the travelling populace (who will gladly choose a 3 leg flight with 20 hour stopovers if it was 10% cheaper) obviously isn't their target market. So I guess ... business travelers? I can't imagine my company paying double the price just to get me at the destination a few hours earlier. |
Originally Posted by mickeydfly13
(Post 26367949)
Maybe not your company, but for many, time is money and it's a no brainier to get where you're going to as quickly as possible.
Unless they someone engineer/build this thing at an order-of-magnitude cost lower than traditional aircraft, I don't see a business case for it. |
Originally Posted by JamilD
(Post 26367024)
Looks like some startup is trying to build a supersonic passenger aircraft. They're backed by YCombinator, the most prominent Silicon Valley incubator/VC firm, but I really doubt this will get off the ground. Test flights apparently start next year. Their team includes people from Pratt & Whitney, NASA, Gulfstream, Icon, Boeing, Virgin Galactic, etc, so that inspires some faith.
It's risky, because the revenue model of airlines is based around volume, not speed. It used to be about speed, but now it's about butts in seats. This is why we are on airbus A320s instead of 727s. I am sure the plane will fly, but let's look at why concorde failed..aside from the gas consumption, it was priced out of market and still had razor thin margins considering the operating costs. To make supersonic pax travel work, you need a plane that can still take 230 people, uses less fuel, and has a simple training curve for the crew. |
Originally Posted by CPRich
(Post 26369315)
Unless they someone engineer/build this thing at an order-of-magnitude cost lower than traditional aircraft, I don't see a business case for it.
A lot of the time, they're right. I don't know about building an aircraft though. |
Originally Posted by JamilD
(Post 26369608)
anything done by a tech company can be done at a fraction of the cost.
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Originally Posted by shuigao
(Post 26367323)
Wonder what the demand will be.
The vast majority of the travelling populace (who will gladly choose a 3 leg flight with 20 hour stopovers if it was 10% cheaper) obviously isn't their target market. So I guess ... business travelers? I can't imagine my company paying double the price just to get me at the destination a few hours earlier. |
Originally Posted by JamilD
(Post 26369608)
There's an impression in Silicon Valley that anything done by a non-tech company is grossly inefficient, and that anything done by a tech company can be done at a fraction of the cost.
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The Virgin Group has signed a letter of intent to buy 10 aircraft once they're built, along with providing support in the manufacturing and design of the aircraft.
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What was the fastest passenger plane?
My guess is the BAC/Sud (BAe/Aerospatiale) Concorde and the Tupelov Tu-144. Behind that was the Convair 880 and 990, as well as the Boeing 747. Is that right? |
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