Following the Supersonic Business Jet (SBJ) by Aerion Corporation of Reno, Nevada, US; another maker too plunges in the market of supersonic travel. A consortium called Supersonic Aerospace International (SAI), based in Nevada, US has commissioned aerospace contractor Lockheed Martin to design a supersonic aeroplane, named the Quiet Supersonic Transport (QSST). SAI is targeting the jet at extremely wealthy individuals and companies. It hopes to establish supersonic flights between the world’s major financial centres. Executives could fly between New York and Los Angeles, for example, in just 2 hours and 15 minutes. The QSST will travel 1.6 times the speed of sound. Mach 1.6 is approximately 2000 kilometres (1200 miles) per hour.
SAI and Lockheed Martin envision a 40-metre-long aircraft with an innovative shape that should reduce the volume of the sonic boom that occurs when the sound barrier is broken. The QSST’s broad nose should cause the shock wave to compress while the rest of the plane’s fuselage makes it expand. The result ought to be a significant reduction in the volume of the jet’s sonic signature. A sonic boom with sound pressure levels 20 decibels quieter than that of Concorde will be produced. You will need to wait till 2013 to book your tickets on the Supersonic civilian aeroplanes.
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