Supersonic Airliner On Drawing Board

CNN Money says Lockheed Martin and Boeing are working on a supersonic airliner designed to fly legally over land. The report says the aircraft will carry 88 passengers at Mach 1.6, or about twice as fast as regular jet airliners. That's a little slower than the Concorde, which last flew a little more than 11 years ago, and given the small cabin it would likely be an expensive trip. However, if the engineers can crack the sonic boom issue, the commercial potential for supersonic airliners might increase. The story gives a timeline of just eight years for that breakthrough.

The U.S. and many other countries ban exceeding Mach 1 over land because of the damage and nuisance sonic booms can cause. However, there are several serious attempts underway to modify the aerodynamic forces that cause the noise. As we reported in September, Gulfstream has earned three patents aimed at reducing sonic boom and Aerion, which is mounting a highly publicized effort to create a $110 million supersonic business jet, recently took on Airbus as an engineering partner in the venture.