NASA expects supersonic passenger flights by 2026 through development of X-59 aircraft

OSHKOSH – Commercial supersonic flights could be a thing again in the not-so-distant future.

Fifty years after passenger supersonic travel over land was banned over noise concerns, NASA believes those flights may return as soon as 2026 through the development of its X-59 jet.

NASA test pilots Nils Larson and Jim “Clue” Less made the claim during Monday’s featured presentation on the opening day of EAA AirVenture at Wittman Regional Airport.

According to Less and Larson, the design of the X-59 is aimed at reducing the ear-splitting sonic boom to a “sonic thump” in an effort to reverse the law against commercial supersonic flights over land.

“It would be like if your neighbor next door slammed a car door,” said Less of what they expect new supersonic travel to sound like.

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In 1973, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration outlawed civilian supersonic flights over land because of the noise created from sonic booms, and also the potential for property damage.

This forced supersonic jets like the Concorde into strictly routes over water like transatlantic flights.

But the Concorde stopped flying since 2003 over concerns about its economic viability.

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“Sometimes the Concorde would drag a sonic boom with it that people on land did end up hearing,” explained NASA public affairs officer Matt Kamlet.

“And by opening up supersonic flight over land, we’re expanding the model and making it more economically viable."

Less and Larson showcased a scaled-down model version of the X-59, which is currently a single-engine aircraft measuring 100 feet long with a 30-foot wingspan.

Kamlet said the goal is for the X-59 to have its first flights by the end of the year before NASA can eventually pitch the technology to companies.

“Eventually, we want to have a good tool we can hand to manufacturers and say, 'If you make it like this, it will make this thump,' so they necessarily don’t have to go through all the stuff we’re going through,” Larson said.

“Then, we need the public to tell us the thump is OK, so we’re going to do surveys across certain communities in the United States and they’re going to tell us whether it’s good or not," he said.

“When we get that data, we hand it to the regulators and we ask if this is good enough to change the rule,” he added.

Companies such as Hermeus, Spike, Boom and Exosonic have all been exploring a return to commercial supersonic travel under the premise of more quieter and more affordable passenger flights.

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AirVenture runs through Sunday

The 71st EAA AirVenture Oshkosh runs through July 28 at Wittman Regional Airport, 525 W. 20th Ave., Oshkosh. Daily tickets are $45 for adult members and $63 for adult non-members. Veterans and active military members pay $45 while kids 18 years and younger are admitted free. For more information, go to https://www.eaa.org/airventure .

Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: NASA expects supersonic passenger flights by 2026 through development of X-59 aircraft