Supersonic aircraft has become a key driving force for human progress, so how should the noise standards be set?

August 30, 2023

According to relevant documents and people familiar with the matter, in order to initiate the development of the emerging industry of supersonic jet airliners, the United States actively advocates the development of a new global noise standard for supersonic aircraft. However, this has been resisted by European countries-European countries hope to This type of noise is subject to stricter control.

Supersonic aircraft has become a key driving force for human progress, so how should the noise standards be set?

The Concorde has been retired for 15 years. Today, US regulators hope to adjust relevant standards and regulations to facilitate early flight tests of supersonic aircraft, and plans to put US-made business jets and small passenger jets into service by 2025. However, according to five anonymous sources, in secret talks held by the United Nations aviation agency, the United States, Britain, France and Germany and other European countries have been arguing over the issue of "setting new jet noise standards." Therefore, the time for this new industry to officially enter the market may be delayed.

As early as the 1990s, the United States and Europe had differences on the issue of noise standards. At that time, the European Union wanted to prohibit the noisy old-style Boeing 727 aircraft made by the United States from entering the airport; the United States threatened to block the Concorde jointly manufactured by Britain and France in retaliation.

In this case, the United States wants to support startups such as Aerion Supersonic, Boom Supersonic, and Spike Aerospace to revive the supersonic aircraft industry and become the leader in this industry. This ambition of the United States is in line with the European countries’ response to the annoying aircraft noise. Fear formed a confrontation. According to industry sources, Aerion, which is jointly supported by Lockheed Martin Corp and General Electric Company (GE), is in a leading position in the supersonic aircraft project.

Boom will make its debut at the Farnborough Air Show next week, and its goal is to lay the foundation for the renaissance of the supersonic aircraft industry. However, due to engine problems, practitioners in the supersonic aircraft industry are still thinking about how to design a supersonic aircraft that meets the current subsonic aircraft noise standards.

An industry source familiar with the matter said, “Europe is mainly worried about the noise around the airport, but because there is no market demand, they have no incentive to solve this problem.”

In fact, this matter has a certain reversal. In the 1970s, due to noise issues, the US Congress and the Port of New York Authority successively promulgated bans on Concorde aircraft, and the transatlantic routes carried out by Concorde aircraft had to be postponed as a result. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned flights carried out by supersonic aircraft from passing over the land of the United States since 1973.

Currently, the new supersonic passenger aircraft plans to execute only water routes. However, NASA is currently conducting a study, which is expected to be completed before 2025. At that time, the FAA will analyze various research data provided by NASA and finally decide whether to allow supersonic aircraft to perform land routes.

Global standard

Both Boeing and Airbus have drawn blueprints for the future development of ultrafast air travel.

However, since the disappearance of the Sonic Cruiser aircraft that Boeing planned to launch in 2002, which is close to supersonic aircraft, Boeing and Airbus have been focusing on making slower and more fuel-efficient aircraft, and accordingly, allowing airlines to reduce the speed. air ticket price.

Now, American startups are targeting business travelers and are committed to developing supersonic aircraft that are quieter and more fuel-efficient than Concorde. They said that as long as the right engine is used, this solution is economically feasible. They also promised to curb the sonic boom, which was also the culprit that caused the Concorde’s slow-sales, restricted operations, and ultimately the suspension of flight for economic reasons in 2003.

ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), a UN agency headquartered in Montreal, is the maker of multiple global standards. At present, ICAO has begun to collect technical information from aircraft manufacturers and conduct in-depth research on supersonic aircraft. An ICAO spokesperson said that in this way, ICAO can better assess how to establish noise and emission standards and "how long the development process will take."

Although the aviation industry tends to formulate international standards through ICAO, the FAA stated on July 12 that it is also considering the formulation of domestic noise regulations in the United States.

The FAA stated, “If the international standard is still undecided, the FAA will need to issue noise regulations for domestic certification.”

According to documents recently submitted to the ICAO committee meeting, European countries believe that the current noise restrictions should be used as guidelines for the formulation of landing and take-off rules.

Another document shows that in response to industry requirements, the United States has called for the introduction of new regulations that reflect the fundamental difference between supersonic and subsonic aircraft.

"The standard for subsonic aircraft is not suitable for supersonic aircraft," said Mike Hinderberger, senior vice president of aircraft development at Aerion at an industry conference in June.

The chicken or the egg came first

An industry insider in the United States said that ICAO’s delay in issuing standards may cause aircraft manufacturers to fall into a stalled stalemate, or increase the risk of investors slamming millions of dollars into “unapproved” designs.

"This is the question of whether there is a chicken or an egg first." An insider added, "If there is no reference standard, how do you introduce the aircraft to the market?"

The FAA stated that the noise standard "needs to be determined as soon as feasible, so that manufacturers can see certainty." Vik Kachoria, CEO of Spike Aerospace, based in Boston, said, "The sooner these organizations determine guidelines and standards, the sooner we can determine a design that meets these requirements." Spike Aerospace hopes to choose which one to use early next year. engine.

At the same time, European countries are collecting convincing data. In another document on emissions, they stated that due to insufficient data, it is likely that no new standards will be introduced until around 2025.

Boom CEO Blake Scholl said that he believes that the international community will eventually reach an agreement on this issue, because customers also hope to reach their destination as soon as possible.

"Supersonic aircraft will become a key driving force for human progress, and we believe that the European people will eventually accept it," Blake Scholl said. "Of course, we know that noise is a sensitive issue, so we are also considering how to design aircraft. solve this problem."

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