Despite the recent shutdown of supersonic business jet developer Aerion, industry and government R&D efforts continue to facilitate a new generation of quieter supersonic aircraft. That includes NASA’s Low Boom Flight Demonstrator (LBFD) project, which aims to conduct the first flight of the X-59 QueSST test bed in 2022. “All of this is related to changing the [noise] standards to open up the market for future commercial supersonic flight,” said LBFD Project Manager Cathy Baum, “which will then transition to likely business jets first and then large transport aircraft.”
In this episode of NBAA’s “Flight Plan,” host Rob Finfrock speaks with:
Cathy Bahm, NASA’s LBFD project manager
Larry Cliatt, NASA’s LBFD acoustic validation tech lead
Gautam Shah, NASA’s LBFD community testing sub-project Manager
We conclude our two-part discussion about mental wellness in business aviation with encouraging news: FAA Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup recently announced that the agency will revise its procedures to encourage anyone needing help dealing with mental health challenges to get it.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and over the next two weeks NBAA Flight Plan, in cooperation with The Pilots Pandemic podcast, will feature an open and honest discussion about issues related to mental wellness in the business aviation community.
Several recent developments – including a new NBAA-supported blender's tax credit – have bolstered efforts to increase production of SAF to 3 billion gallons annually in the U.S. by 2030.
Supersonic travel over the continental U.S. has been banned for more than 50 years. However, NASA's X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology test aircraft, which should fly for the first time later this year, aims to change that.