Supersonic Flight Bill Clears First Committee Step in US House

Congressional legislation that would authorize supersonic flight over the U.S. cleared its first U.S. House committee step during December.

The House's Transportation and Infrastructure committee unanimously passed H.R. 3410 — "The Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act" — on Dec. 18. The next committee step was not listed on congress.gov.

Boom Supersonic’s quest to revive supersonic commercial aircraft flight received a historic and unexpected boost from an executive order signed June 6 by President Donald Trump.

If Boom’s Overture commercial passenger aircraft is approved for supersonic flight over land, a flight across the U.S. — beginning potentially as early as 2029 — could be at least 90 minutes quicker than current top flight speeds under what Boom is calling “Boomless Cruise” mode.

“Legalizing supersonic flight makes a renaissance in supersonic passenger travel inevitable,” Blake Scholl, Boom's founder and chief executive, said in a statement.

The law banning commercial aircraft supersonic flight over the U.S. went into effect in 1973.

Trump's order directs the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to repeal the prohibition on overland supersonic flight, as well as establish an interim noise-based certification standard “and repeal other regulations that hinder supersonic flight.”

HR3410 codifies the order and would clear the path for the FAA to allow civilian aircraft to fly at speeds of Mach 1 and faster "as long as no sonic boom reaches the ground."

Boom demonstrated in January and February that supersonic flight can take place over land at a certain height without the disruptive sonic boom reaching the ground.

Boom, based in Denver, reached a key milestone in June 2024 with the completion of its $500 million “superfactory” at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro where it has pledged to have at least 1,781 full-time employees at full production.

Sponsors of HR3410 are Reps. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, and Sharice Davids, D-Kansas. Their bill was introduced May 14.

“For decades, American aviation innovation has been hindered due to outdated and arbitrary regulations,” Nehls said in a news release.

"In order to remain the gold standard, we must enable our industry to produce the next generation of passenger aircraft. My legislation cuts through outdated red tape without compromising safety and ensures the United States, not China, leads the next era of aerospace innovation."

Among the co-sponsors are four Republican U.S. House members of the North Carolina delegation: Pat Harrigan, who represents Forsyth County in the 10th District; Richard Hudson, who represents Guilford County in the 9th District; Tim Moore of the 14th District; and David Rouser of the 7th District.

U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., introduced the same legislation as Senate Bill 1759, also on May 14. It has not been heard in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

Background

Both bills direct the FAA to issue or revise regulations addressing civil passenger aircraft within one year of either bill becoming law.

Nehls said the House bill recognizes that Boom Supersonic has not only developed quiet supersonic technologies, but has demonstrated its aircraft can operate above Mach 1.

Trump's executive order directs the FAA administrator to repeal the prohibition on overland supersonic flight, as well as establish an interim noise-based certification standard “and repeal other regulations that hinder supersonic flight.”

The order emphasizes the coordination of supersonic research, development, test and evaluation efforts through the National Science and Technology Council with leadership from the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

It also promotes international engagement through the FAA and other agencies to align global supersonic flight regulations and secure bilateral agreements for international operations.

The news release from the White House reads in part “America once led the world in supersonic aviation, but decades of stifling regulations grounded progress.”

“By removing decades-old regulatory barriers and promoting cutting-edge supersonic technology, President Trump is Making Aviation Great Again,” according to the White House news release.

“Lifting the ban on supersonic flight unlocks competition in the industry, secures American leadership in aerospace, strengthens national security and reinvigorates the industrial base.”

How it works

Sonic booms have been demonstrated to cause structural damage, such as cracked windows and damaged roofs, while being a brief, but disruptively loud noise considered minimally harmful to humans and animals.

Boom’s supersonic data points from Jan. 28 and Feb. 10 test flights at Mojave Air and Space Port in California demonstrated that the sonic booms were not felt on the ground.

A NASA chart explains the air pressure science behind a sonic boom: essentially that “air reacts like a fluid to supersonic objects. As objects travel through the air, the air molecules are pushed aside with great force and this forms a shock wave much like a boat creates a bow wave.”

“The bigger and heavier the aircraft, the more air it displaces.”

Scholl said the technological breakthrough wasn’t as much the design of XB-1, and soon to be Overture, but rather determining “the altitude and the speed relative to the current atmospheric conditions.”

“Sound waves bend toward colder temperatures in the upper atmosphere, so they make a U-shape as they come off the aircraft,” Scholl said.

“If you fly at too low of an altitude or are going too high of a speed, those waves will hit the ground, and that’s when you hear a sonic boom.”

Scholl said that under the appropriate flight conditions, typically an altitude of 35,000 to 36,000 feet, the sound waves flow to a “cutoff altitude” before curling upward “so that no one ever hears it.”

The Overture airline is projected to fly at an altitude of up to 60,000 feet.

Boom plans to initially operate Overture at Mach 0.94 over land. That speed is about 20% faster than today’s subsonic jets, but below the breaking of the sound barrier at Mach 1.

Each one-tenth beyond Mach 1 represents a 10% increase beyond the speed of sound, so Mach 1.1 is 10% faster, Mach 1.2 is 20% faster and Mach 1.3 is 30% faster, and so on.

The plan is to break the sound barrier over water at up to Mach 1.7.

Supersonic commercial airline flight also has been banned over land by global aviation law.

The International Civil Aviation Organization, representing 193 countries including the U.S., agreed in April on new global supersonic aircraft noise standards, based in part on Boom’s new technology.

The group also aligned on a recommended new standard for landing and takeoff noise that takes into account Boom’s planned advanced noise reduction procedures. Boom’s Overture passenger aircraft will have the same landing and takeoff noise footprint as today’s subsonic long-haul aircraft.

Next PTI steps

The PTI Boom factory has 150,000 square feet on the production floor, 24,000 square feet for office space and 5,000 square feet for the receiving area.

Boom’s next development step is proving commercial supersonic flight is valid, sustainable and scalable for an aircraft projected to hold between 65 and 80 passengers.

Boom already has 130 orders and pre-orders from United Airlines, American Airlines and Japan Airlines.

The Overture timeline at Piedmont Triad International Airport remains:

* 2026: First Overture rollout.

* 2027: First test flight.

* 2029: Federal Aviation Administration certification.

* 2029: First passenger flights.

The initial Boom projection is producing up to 33 Overture aircraft annually at a projected price tag of $200 million apiece.

The goal is to produce 66 Overture aircraft annually at full production.

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