@bentossell We're starting with long haul international flights, because that's where supersonics make the biggest difference. But, there's tons of innovation to be done in all aspects of air travel. Especially airports/airport security.
Go figure this would be started by internet folks.
Key in on the details.
Concorde only survived because of subsidies.
Fuel is freaking expensive. The fuel costs go up very high.
Sonic booms can shatter windows and that's why supersonic planes are only allowed to do their sonic booms over the ocean.
This is a 10-20% improvement in speed and no airline in their right mind would purchase it.
Commercial Jets go 0.7-0.8 Mach.
A supersonic jet is Mach 1. (the speed of sound - keeping in mind this changes with temperature.
The founders of this company are not AEs or mechanical engineers.
Edit: I stand corrected. One of the founders IS in fact an AE.
@datarade Wow, lots to comment on here.
First off, we're talking a 2.6X improvement in speed, not 20%. Boom airplane cruises at Mach 2.2.
I'm really proud of the team—today we are 11 engineers, 9 who have made meaningful contributions to FAA-certified aircraft, 4 who have worked on supersonics before. Our engine guy owned front half of the engine in the Joint Strike Fighter. Our aerodynamics lead previously led supersonic aero at Gulfstream. Systems lead worked on SpaceShipTwo flight dynamics up to Mach 3.
@bscholl
I appreciate you taking the time to answer this question.
I don't necessarily care about the credentials of the teammates as much as I do the founders. The CTOs credentials of AE really do answer that question. In the days of Hyperloop, such skepticism is necessary.
Any engineer's engineer will always want to work on cool technology. What I'm inquiring about is the market viability of the technology from a unit economics perspective.
While I'm willing to bet the airlines might partner with you on whim, somehow I'm doubtful that they'd actually buy a plane. Or wait.... do the airlines want to buy this plane?
If this was financially viable for carriers then how come Boeing, Lockheed, Airbus, etc... didn't latch on?
Product Hunt
Truebill Budget & Bill Tracker
Gulp
Makerpad
TWiStartups- This Week in Startups (Matt Epstein, Zenefits VP Marketing)
Crypto Buyer's Guide
TWiStartups- This Week in Startups (Matt Epstein, Zenefits VP Marketing)
Crypto Buyer's Guide