HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle

Future of Flight: NYC to London in 3 Hours

Views: 1002
Boom Technology wants to take you from New York to London in three hours.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/reasontv
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magaz...
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason
Subscribe to our podcast at iTunes: https://goo.gl/az3a7a

Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.


"Really unique in the history of technology is to have a capability and then lose it," says Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of the aviation startup Boom Technology. "We're going to see renewed progress in air travel. My long-term mission at Boom is to make that happen."

When the Concorde made its commercial debut in 1976, it was an engineering marvel that represented the technological promise of the 20th century. But 27 years after its initial flight, the Concorde landed for the final time, ending the era of civilian supersonic travel.

So why did the airliner of the future become a museum artifact?

The Concorde was always a state-funded white elephant so when costs went up and ticket sales dropped, the French and British governments who were backing the venture decided to pull the plug and retire the aircraft.

Another factor that hobbled the evolution of supersonic flight was an overland speed limit imposed in both the U.S. and Europe. The speed ban was pushed by environmental activists—like those in the Anti-Concorde Project and Citizens League Against the Sonic Boom—who claimed that this type of aircraft would generate "the loudest noise" ever heard, or the equivalent to a bomb going off.

"If that was the case there would have been a noise limit, not a speed limit," says Scholl.

Fourteen years after the Concorde was grounded, private companies are on the verge of bringing supersonic air travel back. And this time it'll be built on sound economic principles.

To circumvent the overland travel ban, Boom Technology's aircraft will mainly fly over water. And the company has devised a new form factor for the plane: a three engine jet that can carry up to 55 passengers and flies more than twice the speed of sound.

"My personal favorite feature is a cup holder that is nowhere close to where you put your laptop," says Scholl.

Interior of Boom plane

Boom expects to charge $5,000 round trip from New York to London. A ticket for the Concorde set its passengers back about $15,000 in today's dollars.

Scholl's company isn't alone in its quest to speed up air travel. It has several private competitors, and NASA is working with the engineering firm Lockheed Martin to come up with its own version of a supersonic plane. The difference? Boom's demonstrator jet will cost roughly $30 million compared to NASA's plane, which is expected to cost at least $300 million when completed.

"Private industry is able to do this roughly at an order of magnitude cheaper than government and also without requiring any taxpayer money," states Scholl.

Current regulations will prevent companies like Boom from offering supersonic flights between California and New York. Before they can enter that market, the FAA would need to overturn its ban on overland travel.

"Reverse that and now New York to San Francisco could be 2 hours and 20 minutes," says Scholl.

Boom revealed its design for the XB-1 demonstrator jet last November, and is working with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic to build and test the prototype in 2017. They aim to start flying commercial air passengers in the early 2020s.

"We're fans of speed so we're doing this as quickly as possible," states Scholl. Boom's calculates that if supersonic flight can catch on with business travelers market forces will do their work by improving technology and bringing down costs—making supersonic flight accessible to more people.

"Nobody wants a longer flight," says Scholl. "This is a chance for airlines to make it significantly faster."

Produced by Alexis Garcia. Camera by Austin Bragg. Additional footage courtesy Boom Technology, Department of Defense, and NASA. Music by Vibe Tracks, Jason Farnham, & Audionautix. Cycles by Audionautix (http://audionautix.com/) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
@ReasonVidsfollow
Thumbnail for Trump's Syria Strike Won't Solve Any Problems But Could Make Everything Worse5:41
Trump's Syria Strike Won't Solve Any Problems But Could Make Everything Worse
ReasonVids
892 views
Thumbnail for "The Slants:" A Band Name Too Racist to Trademark!8:03
"The Slants:" A Band Name Too Racist to Trademark!
ReasonVids
968 views
Thumbnail for Reason Webathon 2012 w Nick Gillespie, Matt Welch, Kennedy, and more!2:01:55
Reason Webathon 2012 w Nick Gillespie, Matt Welch, Kennedy, and more!
ReasonVids
844 views
Thumbnail for How can libertarians effect political change?3:18
How can libertarians effect political change?
ReasonVids
1059 views
Thumbnail for "We're All Perverts": The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality with Author Christopher Ryan26:44
"We're All Perverts": The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality with Author Christopher Ryan
ReasonVids
925 views
Thumbnail for Submit Your Film to the Reason Video Awards!0:26
Submit Your Film to the Reason Video Awards!
ReasonVids
836 views
Thumbnail for Imagine Being This Tone Deaf... - CNN with advertisements on the wrong time.0:39
Imagine Being This Tone Deaf... - CNN with advertisements on the wrong time.
memology101
908 views
Thumbnail for Why are so Many Americans in Prison? Michael Stoll on America's Ridiculous Incarceration Rates6:51
Why are so Many Americans in Prison? Michael Stoll on America's Ridiculous Incarceration Rates
ReasonVids
846 views
Thumbnail for White people and their *pulls slot machine handle* econometrics!1:16
White people and their *pulls slot machine handle* econometrics!
bestofsaidit
728 views
Thumbnail for Cocktail Shakedown: The New War Against Classic Mixed Drinks8:17
Cocktail Shakedown: The New War Against Classic Mixed Drinks
ReasonVids
993 views
Thumbnail for Oregon Man Fined $500 for Criticizing Red-light Cameras2:27
Oregon Man Fined $500 for Criticizing Red-light Cameras
IJvids
1020 views
Thumbnail for Mike Rowe Wears Trump’s Robe, Fights a Drone, and Solves the Labor Shortage46:52
Mike Rowe Wears Trump’s Robe, Fights a Drone, and Solves the Labor Shortage
ReasonVids
929 views
Thumbnail for A Conversation with Cato's David Boaz at Freedom Fest 20126:47
A Conversation with Cato's David Boaz at Freedom Fest 2012
ReasonVids
846 views
Thumbnail for The Truth About Mental Illness and Guns7:48
The Truth About Mental Illness and Guns
ReasonVids
826 views
Thumbnail for Lori Ann Vendetti & Property Rights4:29
Lori Ann Vendetti & Property Rights
IJvids
891 views
Thumbnail for Screen Actors Dying, Falling ill and Collapsing On-Set — Bob Odenkirk of Better Call Saul suffers heart attack — 81 other actors this year26:12
Screen Actors Dying, Falling ill and Collapsing On-Set — Bob Odenkirk of Better Call Saul suffers heart attack — 81 other actors this year
bestofsaidit
696 views
Thumbnail for Shikha Dalmia Discusses Immigration at 2011 Students for Liberty International Conference33:51
Shikha Dalmia Discusses Immigration at 2011 Students for Liberty International Conference
ReasonVids
838 views
Thumbnail for Is Halbig the End of Obamacare?: Michael Cannon Explains What Comes Next11:47
Is Halbig the End of Obamacare?: Michael Cannon Explains What Comes Next
ReasonVids
981 views
Thumbnail for What We Saw at the Occupy the Justice Dept. Rally in DC!3:23
What We Saw at the Occupy the Justice Dept. Rally in DC!
ReasonVids
909 views
Thumbnail for Get Reason's iPhone App Right Now!0:36
Get Reason's iPhone App Right Now!
ReasonVids
824 views
Thumbnail for A Civil Rights Movement for Corporations? Inside the 400-Year Struggle22:29
A Civil Rights Movement for Corporations? Inside the 400-Year Struggle
ReasonVids
933 views
Thumbnail for Just another smooth operator0:10
Just another smooth operator
bestofvoatxyz
2589 views
Thumbnail for Making a Murderer's Jerry Buting on New Evidence, Reddit Theories, & What the Documentary Left Out21:44
Making a Murderer's Jerry Buting on New Evidence, Reddit Theories, & What the Documentary Left Out
ReasonVids
905 views
Thumbnail for Remy: Democratic Debate (The Rap)1:44
Remy: Democratic Debate (The Rap)
ReasonVids
849 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian, reason magazine, reason.com, reason.tv, reasontv, boom technology, supersonic, concorde, airplane, aviation, nasa, sonic boom, faa
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle