Currently, according to 14 CFR § 91. 818 no civilian aircraft can operate at supersonic speed without a special permit from the FAA for testing purposes.
For all civil aircraft, any operation that exceeds Mach 1 may be conducted only in accordance with a special flight authorization issued to an operator.
That ban has been in place for 50 years, mostly because no one liked the sonic booms associated with commercial supersonic aircraft.
Plus, the FAA conducted a rather nefarious study on the poor people of Oklahoma City over 8 months that showed commercial supersonic flights might have some negative effects on the populace.
But all of that sounds like it is about to change.
The new Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act, which has bipartisan support, looks set to lift that ban on one important condition:
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall issue or revise such regulations, such as section 91.817 of part 14, Code of Federal Regulations, as are necessary to allow for the operation of civil aircraft (as defined in section 40102(16) of title 49, United States Code) without special authorization within the national airspace system at a Mach number greater than 1 so long as the aircraft is operated in such a manner that no sonic boom reaches the ground in the United States.
No sonic boom?
Is such a thing possible?
Apparently it is, using what's called a "boomless cruise," in which the plane is designed to bounce the sonic boom off the atmosphere before it reaches the ground.
Check it out:
It's not just theoretical anymore.
Boomaero test flew the XB-1 successfully this year, and the boom didn't make it to the ground.
If all goes as planned, commercial flights could be supersonic by 2029, which means way shorter flight times.
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