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But supersonic engines already exist, and aircraft manufacturers almost universally buy instead of build when it comes to choosing an engine.
by dmurray 3y ago
But supersonic engines already exist, and aircraft manufacturers almost universally buy instead of build when it comes to choosing an engine.
- jlmorton 3y agoOne of the key features of Overture is its planned use of e-fuels. I think this is almost crucial. Airlines are not going to line up to buy non-renewable, fuel-guzzling, net CO2-gushing supersonic jets for use over the next couple decades.
- dhash 3y agoThey will if its cheaper
- resolutebat 3y agoNot if they're banned, which will almost certainly be the case by the time Boom is commercially available.
- willmadden 3y agoWe're banning engines now?
- mlyle 3y agoAirlines are almost certain to face significant carbon regulation or carbon taxes in the next couple of decades. In turn, lots of engines will be effectively banned. Of course, this is nothing new: noise abatement effectively banned a whole lot of engines, too.
- nemo44x 3y ago[flagged]
- mlyle 3y agoI don't think it requires giving up on "affordable global flight". It might be a bit more expensive -- getting aircraft to be tens of decibels quieter cost something, too. Externalities -- whether they're noise imposed on a community or climate impacts -- aren't generally addressed by the market on its own. Indeed, we have a new regulatory regime coming into play for airplane emissions slowly-- with first effects in 2028.
- jlmorton 3y agoI mean, it's already happening all over the world. It's not just Germany. The UK already taxes carbon in aviation fuel. It's about to implement a carbon pricing mechanism for jet fuel obtained in jurisdictions without it. The EU is implementing carbon taxes, and a mandate for Sustainable Aviation Fuel. In 25 years, it will be illegal across the EU27 to use aviation fuel that is not at least 70% Sustainable Aviation Fuel. China has the world's largest emissions trading program. Civil aviation will be included next year. Australia has a carbon tax, and will soon have mandates on civil aviation emissions. Brazil does not yet have a carbon tax, but in the past year there has been legislation proposed, and it looks likely to be coming sometime soon. The US EPA just announced regulations that will not force, but will certainly make it cost prohibitive to sell lots of gasoline cars ten years from now. Civil aviation is a likely next target.
- willmadden 3y agoWe'll see. We're heading into a solar minimum.
- pmontra 3y agoWe do that with the most polluting car engines.
- _fizz_buzz_ 3y agoIsn't it completely irrelevant for their development how the fuel is produced? My understanding is that E-fuels are exactly the same as "normal" fuels. They are just produced in a carbon neutral way. You can fly a 50 year old Concord on e-fuels.
- notahacker 3y agoThey announced they're building their own because the regular engine OEMs showed little interest. Even if required modifications to historic or military turbojets are minor, there's a lot of expense in certifying them for use for a new type of passenger aircraft, and modern economical turbofans were not designed for supersonic flight...
- foldr 3y agoOnly for military applications, which have much lower reliability and serviceability requirements.
- sofixa 3y ago(Almost?) exclusively on military planes which have different return on investment needs than commercial aircraft that need to be efficient first and foremost (ask Convair and BAC/Sud Aviation how many airlines valued speed over efficiency).