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
Attracting and retaining business aviation talent remains a challenge. Savvy aviation managers have a rapport with their human resources staff and they work together to help their company hire and hold on to business aviation's best and brightest.
As the saying goes on Capitol Hill, most work in any congressional session gets done in the first 100 days of a new year. NBAA has been using this time to focus on numerous legislative and regulatory matters that impact business aviation, including by utilizing the CLIMBING. FAST. campaign to underscore the industry's leadership on sustainability and push toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
One of the featured sessions at the record-setting 2024 NBAA Leadership Conference was a live podcast with aerial coordinator and stunt pilot Kevin LaRosa II, whose work helped create several gravity-defying moments in the blockbuster movie "Top Gun: Maverick." In this podcast, LaRosa shares his perspectives on the concept of "Next-Level Leadership" and balancing the "need for speed" with a steadfast commitment to safety.
Boom Supersonic’s Overture aircraft, now under development, will be manufactured using renewable energy from production through flight and end-of-life recycling, the company’s president says. The aircraft is also designed to run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel.