The FAA has proposed a new rule allowing commercial supersonic flights over US cities if sonic boom impacts are minimized. This change, driven by a push for supersonic air travel, would replace a 1973 ban with a new noise-based certification standard.
The FAA is proposing to overturn a long-standing ban on commercial supersonic flights over the United States. This proposal aims to allow the potential return of supersonic airliners, contingent on reducing the ground-level impacts of sonic booms.
The original ban on overland supersonic flights was established in 1973, following military tests that took place over US cities. The ban was meant to address concerns over disruptive sonic booms that could affect urban populations.
The proposed rule introduces an interim certification standard aimed at limiting sonic boom overpressure to below 0.11 pounds per square foot. This standard is based on demonstrations by Boom Supersonic's XB-1 aircraft, which successfully achieved quiet Mach cutoff flights under specific conditions.
The Concorde, which operated from 1976 to 2003, produced a sonic boom overpressure of 1.94 pounds per square foot. The proposed rule represents a significant reduction in acceptable sonic boom levels, reflecting advancements in aircraft technology and noise mitigation strategies.
Some experts, including Dan Rutherford from the International Council on Clean Transportation, express concerns about the effectiveness of the proposed overpressure metric. It was previously dismissed by UN experts for not accurately measuring loudness or public annoyance.
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The FAA has proposed a new rule allowing commercial supersonic flights over US cities if sonic boom impacts are minimized. This change, driven by a push for supersonic air travel, would replace a 1973 ban with a new noise-based certification standard.