Sonic Boom Metrics

As demand for long range business travel increases and technologies for efficient supersonic flight mature, a market for small supersonic civil aircraft appears to be forming. However, a major remaining impediment to the operation of such aircraft is the cruise noise signature. Sonic boom noise issues are different from many other aspects of aircraft noise in that the potential annoyance occurs en route, along the flight path rather than just near airports. Maximum utility will require supersonic flight over land, currently prohibited by law. Recent research on shaped sonic booms has indicated low boom designs are possible and result in significantly less objectionable signatures than classic booms of the 1960s - 1980s. Supersonic aircraft operation and sonic boom signatures were investigated for low boom designs, as the overarching goal of Project 8.