NASA Is Bringing Supersonic Planes BACK

When can you and I fly faster than sound?

Twenty years ago, you could fly in a plane going FASTER THAN SOUND. The famous Concorde supersonic plane could get from New York to London in 3 and a half hours! It flew at an altitude so high you could see the curve of the earth, all while popping champagne. But then… these planes stopped flying, and we never made any more like them. Now, New York to London takes 7 hours.

But why? What happened to supersonic planes? And more importantly… can we bring them BACK? If you ask NASA, the answer is yes. We got to go see the brand new experimental X-59 plane they’re building. Here’s what’s really huge if true: If NASA succeeds, it could bring back commercial supersonic flight, and allow you and I to fly faster than sound.

Chapters:
00:00 What happened to supersonic planes?
01:45 How fast is supersonic?
02:21 What is NASA’s X-59 plane?
03:23 How does a supersonic plane work?
05:30 What is a sonic boom?
06:50 How loud is a sonic boom?
07:20 What happened to the Concorde?
08:58 How does the X-59 work?
10:04 How do we bring back supersonic planes?
11:12 When can I fly supersonic?
13:44 Why is supersonic flight huge if true?
15:00 Something extra :)

Additional reading and watching:

Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked.

Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM and 35mm prime
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX
Music: Tom Fox and Musicbed

—
Welcome to the joke down low:

What happens to a bad airplane joke?
It doesn’t land.

Use the word “land” in a comment to tell me you’re a real one who read to the end… :)

[TheActressAndBishop]

Kudos to NASA for letting this video happen - I think this shows them at their best ..

[billmichaelson]

My Concorde story:

I flew a Cessna 172 into JFK twice about 30 years ago. On one of those flights while on base leg to 13R, I heard a controller instruct an Air France Concorde to hold short for landing traffic. Sure enough, there it was on the taxiway at one o'clock. I was mildly amused by the thought of all those very fast rich people waiting an extra minute for me to land my little four banger. I did my best to make it short and quick, using about one-tenth of the runway to hop off to the GA terminal on the left. Just courtesy. Fond memory.

[HeathJ.Ledger]

If NASA gets this right, I’m sure this video will blow up in a decade and if it does, it will be well deserved Cleo!

[Sailoralso]

The Concord had a second noisy characteristic. At takeoff, it was three or four times louder than any other plane. From a house in Somerville, Mass, , where you never hear the planes taking off and landing at Logan, The morning of the Concord's grand tour before beginning service, , the roar as it headed down he runway, even as far away as Davis Square, was stunning !! It sounded like I was standing at the end of the runway, not six miles away in town. Loud, really loud.

[eastafrica]

As a speed freak, I flew on it in 1992 and also travelled on the speed trains in Japan and China. From concorde, the height above sea level was more impressive than the actual speed.

[jaredspencer]

A rarely mentioned reason for the retirement of the Concorde is that while it became profitable, it wasn't *as* profitable as selling first class tickets on a jumbo jet. So airlines would rather have those same high paying customers fly first class on a regular flight than fly the Concorde.

[haroldhenderson]

I worked at Cessna from 1999 to 2014. There ALREADY EXITS the potential for supersonic passenger flights in the US. Your flight covers a longer distance, over the ocean. Examples: Miami to NYC, but curving out over the Atlantic. Also, San Diego to Vancover (over the Pacific) Lastly, longer transoceanic routes.
The problem is the engines needed for supersonic flight are VERY loud (low bypass ratio). The exhaust gases have to be capable of greater speed than the airframe. They are loud (DEAFENING) on takeoff.

[connorbrown]

Turns out the new Top Gun was just a marketing campaign from NASA.

[tomasmcmarques]

I think one of the reasons Cleo's videos are so great is because she approaches topics with a child-like curiosity that we all wished we still had, and through these videos we get to experience it for a while. Thank you so much

[BostonWriterBlog]

"Hmmmm... how can I buy more LEGO sets, yet write them off as a business expense? A-HA!" 😂 Great video, as usual. Thanks for covering this! (Also, I love the symmetry of you carrying your granpa's NASA pin, then you getting one of your own. I'm sure he's looking down and smiling.)

[qwelmm]

Any day you can make Legos a tax write-off is a good day

[ian-wilson]

I have an uncle who was lucky enough to ride the Concord multiple times. To this day he still talks about the view out the window. Great video Cleo!

[ianworley]

I worked in Twickenham near Heathrow Airport in the 1990's. Concorde flew twice daily to JFK, London. The first left at 10.30 each morning, flying directly overhead. What an utterly beautiful plane it was in flight. Like nothing else on Earth.

[loudgt]

Cleo, it is very important to add that Gulftream Aerospace, a US based company, had partnered with NASA to develop Quiet Spike. This led to the aircraft you are looking at in this video. This has been in development since around 2006.

[cwildeman]

So I'm Canadian, but I've been living in Taiwan for going on 20 years now. I try to get home to visit my family and friends every year or two, but travelling from Taipei to Ottawa and back again Cutting that travel time in half would be an absolute gamechanger. I cannot wait for this technology to be available to schmucks like me!

[thatllwork_official]

3.5 hours from NYC to London? How do we get these planes in production faster? 👀

[JonMartinYXD]

1:50 A correction and an important clarification.
1) The fastest train, the maglev Chuo Shinkansen, operates at 505 km/h but has reached 603 km/h in testing. The fastest wheeled train was a French TGV that reached 575 km/h.
2) The speed of sound depends on the temperature of the of air. The colder it is, the lower the speed of sound is. At 20 °C the speed of sound in air is 1235.556 km/h. This is why if you divide the Concorde's top speed of 2172 km/h by Mach 2.04 you only get 1064.7 km/h: it travelled at just over twice the speed of sound, but it did so way up in the lower stratosphere where the air temperature is -56 °C.

[lukashaghebaert]

That personal anecdote at the end got me tearing up in a public library...such a heart warming story.

I love the optimistic note you put in all your videos Cleo :)

[yassinkhaled]

Is nobody gonna talk about how emotional it was at the end when she was talking about her grandfather that really was gonna make me cry

[johnnytampocao]

Flying on a Concord from London to New York was the highlight of my life during the 90's with some celebrities and well known personality lucky enough to be one of them flying in a very tight space and narrow isle plane. Inside its very calm you'll never notice that you're riding on the fastest plane on earth. I'm so proud and delighted being on that flight with my former boss and few people working for him. I was so excited and extatic about the experience. I will never forget this fond memory of mine till my last breath on this planet.😂😂😂