The popularity of supersonic flight has been highly prevalent for aviation enthusiasts and aircraft manufacturers for a significant amount of time—the capability to fly through the air above Mach 1 goal status for many operators in the field. Many aviators and aircraft designers shared the ambitions to make supersonic breakthroughs. Still, all would have a permanent stamp placed upon supersonic aviation by Chuck Yeager when, on October 14, 1947, he piloted the Bell X-1 to Mach 1. Requesting to pilot the X-1 was unbelievably significant at that point, but today, propulsion based on Mach 2 is commonplace, and these propulsion systems made the possibilities of aviation nearly limitless. In the course of aviation, supersonic flight is a significant milestone in the trailblaze of aviation longitudinally. It is on the edge of revival, potentially leading to further means of air transport and technology growth.

Mach 1 was only the beginning for supersonic flight. As the first supersonic commercial flight, the Concorde was highly anticipated in the 1970s for its development. It even went on to fly at Mach 2.04, enabling an individual to fly from New York to London in just 3 hours and shedding several hours off that flight altogether. The Concorde was loved on its first flight, but it met its demise early due to the high operations costs, the only 14 routes available, and the unpredictability of its sonic boom. Almost 16 years after Concorde made its penultimate flight, marking the end of supersonic flight, as far as commercial aviation was concerned, the idea of supersonic flight was not over.

Aerion Supersonic and Boom Supersonic currently seek to redefine supersonic travel for businesses. Boom Supersonic established itself to redefine the future of flight with the emergence of new technologies and some concurrent consideration of commercial aviation with developing some technologies. Boom Supersonic designs the Boom Overture, which flies at Mach 2.2, so you’ll be in the air for even less time. You’ll be able to fly from places like New York to London in just over three hours, a massive reduction in travel time with long-distance travel. The AS2 business jet made by Aerion will allow business travelers to zip around the world at the speed of sound (Mach 1). These new aircraft bring in new technologies that will lessen noise pollution and employ sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) to become sustainable.

The positive news aside, there are many issues that supersonic flight has not fixed; the first and most important is the sonic boom. The sonic boom is the shockwave created when an airplane breaks the sound barrier. This noise is why supersonic flights are banned from flying over land. New developments like the Boom Overture and the advancements it has brought aerodynamically may allow supersonic flights over land without disturbing anyone on the ground. The other issue is that flying supersonic uses much more fuel, so it will be more expensive than subsonic flights. However, hybrid-electric developments and cleaner fuels may one day change the game.