Brett Vance, Host of Jet Jockeys, Weighs in on the "Future" of Supersonic Aircraft and the Overture Project

USA - English

• USA - English

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The future is fast my friends. With the new Overture jet, a flight from London to New York could take just over 3 hours. Currently, most transatlantic flights from Heathrow or Gatwick take more than double that amount of time. A year ago, in January of 2018, a Norwegian plane went from New York's JFK airport to London Gatwick in 5 hours 13 minutes. That was considered very impressive… at the time.

Since the demise of Concorde, super-fast around-the-world flights were not talked about in the mainstream, but now a team from the United States is about to change the game. The new Overture will be the "most community and environmentally friendly supersonic jet ever made", according to the ambitious team behind the project. The aircraft would travel upwards to 2.2 times the speed of sound, which is 2.6 times faster than existing passenger jets.

"Back to the Future…finally!" exclaims Jet Jockey's Host Brett Vance. "Military fast-movers and commercial space aside—and a supersonic parachute jump or two—we the earthbound have not been faster than the speed of sound since the last flight of the Concorde in October of 2003."

Jet Jockeys is a docu-reality series, where pilot and host Brett Vance does for aviation enthusiasts what Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs has done for the dignity of the trades; what Neil deGrasse Tyson of Cosmos has done for our sense of wonder about our universe; and what The Robertson Family of Duck Dynasty has done for family.

Vance started his military aviator life as a T-38 Instructor Pilot after graduating from the Air Force Academy, and then went on a few years later to fly the A-10 on a three-year assignment at RAF Bentwaters, England. About a third of his time there was spent on the European continent supporting NATO operations. But after five years of operational Warthog flying and almost as many years before that in the training command, it was time for him to join the flight test business. He graduated from USAF Test Pilot School and was immediately assigned to the F-16 Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base in the high desert of California. In those fast-paced years, he flew a variety of weapons development programs, engine tests, new F-16 avionics upgrades, and several classified programs.

After a stint at the Pentagon in Special Programs and Legislative Liaison, he returned to Edwards as Deputy Commandant of the Test Pilot School; and for his final tour on active duty, he reported to Hill Air Force Base in Utah to command the 514th Flight Test Squadron.

He retired from the military until the events of 9/11, when he rejoined the game as Chief of Training for the Test Pilot School, flying the F-16, T-38, King-Air, and all the gliders. Needless to say, his expertise is unchallenged, meaning the fact that he is so impressed by the Overture and other potential players in supersonic transportation development is a testament to how revolutionary this aircraft could be.

"Business jet technology is typically the leading edge of commercial aviation, with the larger airliners incorporating similar technologies a bit slower to accommodate the huge pilot training expenses," explains Vance, "State of the art now is huge glass touch screens, fly-by-wire, full envelope protection, enhanced vision, and a variety of other technologies. Yet with these amazing advances in safety, my personal opinion is that we've been subsonic for far too long."

That's where the Overture comes in. Illustrations of how Overture could look show the streamlined aircraft soaring through the skies, skirting the edge of the Earth's atmosphere and sitting elegantly in a hangar like a bullet yet to be fired. It's not just an art project, however. Soon, it will be reality.

"Now with the necessary advances in engine technology and efficiency, we will soon see supersonic passenger travel again. This will be the technology that makes overland high-speed travel friendly to humans on the ground. And that's the money-maker: cross-country supersonic!"

Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, said his team in Denver have extremely big ambitions. They want to change the way humans travel around the planet for good. And, unlike Concorde, which always had an air of exclusivity, Boom Supersonic does not want travelling on its planes of the future to be super expensive.

"At Boom, our vision is to remove the barriers to experiencing the planet," explains Scholl, "today, the time and cost of long-distance travel prevents us from connecting with far-off people and places. Overture fares will be similar to today's business class— widening horizons for tens of millions of travelers. Ultimately, our goal is to make high-speed flight affordable to all."

Apparently, it could all be a reality by the mid-2020s. The Overture project currently has more than 100 people working on it and more than $141 million in funding.

"At least until we get those Star Trek transporters perfected—supersonic passenger transport is our next back-to-the-future technology," Vance concludes, "Check Six on this one!"

SOURCE Jet Jockeys