According to Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl, the US is currently ahead of China when it comes to planes that can fly faster than sound speeds.
“I think aviation has always been seen as a symbol of technical advantage,” Scholl said Tuesday in his appearance on “Morning with Maria.” “Like chips, planes were invented in the US and China wants to surpass America as a technology leader, so of course they are pursuing supersonic speed. That's the next step in aviation.”
South China Morning Post Over the weekend, China's state-run Commercial Aircraft Corporation (COMAC) reported that it was working on a supersonic jet called the C949.
According to the outlet, the aircraft detailed in the blueprint of a recent academic paper aims to reach Mach 1.6 and have a sonic boom that is barely heard when the project comes into play.
The jet design is reportedly having a range of 50% longer than Concord.
COMAC previously said it wanted to bring ultrasound C949 to the market by 2049, South China Morning Post reported.
Scholl told host Maria Bartiromo that the “good news” is that the US is now “first” to China for the Supersonic Jets.
“We have the only operational non-military supersonic jet in the world,” he said. “That's the XB-1 prototype. We've demonstrated that it can be done without a sonic boom.”
Boom Supersonic, the Scholl company, is a Denver-based company behind the XB-1.
Boom Supersonic's XB-1 demo aircraft broke the sound barrier for the first time in late January.
During its highly planned test flight, the jet surpassed the Mach 1 several times “without generating a boom of sound that reached the ground,” the company said.
Scholl went on to tell Baltiromo that “the problem is for now,” and that the US “in our own way, with more regulations.”
According to the Federal Aviation Administration website, US regulations prohibit private flights from exceeding Mach 1 while traveling through American lands.
“Fast flights in the US have been banned since the 1970s,” he explained. “It's really ridiculous. It should have banned the sonic boom, or at least the bad-sounding boom, but instead, the regulations have been in the books for over 50 years, preventing US companies from building the next generation of faster jets.”
According to Boom Supersonic CEO, the US's stricter supersonic regulations have affected countries that compete with China.
“I really think it's soft power and a symbol of technical advantage. It's something the rest of the world is trying to see,” he said. “But it's important for national and economic security.”
“Today, Boeing is the number one US exporter, but has not invented new planes for over 20 years. At the same time, a quarter of all Air Force planes are actually modified commercial planes.
Shoal hopes the US will change regulations related to commercial supersonic flights.
“It's a really simple and easy change. Now we have a regulation that says literally, “You don't exceed Mach 1.” It says “You make no bad noises” during your appearance in “You're Morning with Maria.” “If there is no sonic boom on the ground, if supersonic flight is possible, it should be obviously permitted.”
Boom Supersonic says it aims to “bring Supersonic to everyone.”
According to the company, its XB-1 demo aircraft “provides the foundations” for the overture.
The overture is supposed to have a capacity of between 64 and 80 passengers.
Boom Supersonic also said the jet is supposed to reach twice the speed of the current plane on water and 50% faster on land.
