China's Supersonic Passenger Aircraft Demonstrator Planned for Test Flight by Year-End

Conventional civil airliners fly at approximately 900 km/h, only about 80% of the speed of sound, while supersonic passenger aircraft generally need to reach 1.5 to 2.0 times the speed of sound. In the future, a supersonic flight from Beijing to Shanghai is expected to be shortened to just half an hour.

In the 1960s, the Concorde supersonic passenger aircraft entered service, flying at more than twice the speed of today's civil airliners. However, because the sonic boom it generated exceeded 100 decibels in perceived loudness—sounding like thunder on the ground and even cracking glass—it was fully retired by 2003. How to overcome the sonic boom problem has become key to restarting supersonic passenger aircraft.

Physically, sonic booms cannot be completely eliminated and can only be mitigated as much as possible. Currently, two technological pathways—one international and one domestic—are being pursued. In June this year, NASA's X-59 demonstrator completed its first supersonic flight, reaching Mach 1.1 on that test flight, with the goal of making the sonic boom sound no louder than 75 decibels. China's Tianmushan Laboratory's subscale demonstrator completed low-speed test flights last year, adopting a "three-lifting-surface + T-tail" aerodynamic configuration to disperse and soften the shock waves concentrated ahead of the aircraft. The research team said the demonstrator is scheduled to conduct supersonic test flights by the end of this year, with the goal of making the sonic boom it generates sound no louder than 80 decibels.

In addition to reducing sonic booms, supersonic passenger aircraft face numerous other technical hurdles, and China is building a complete chain for tackling key challenges. Qian Zhansen, a researcher at the Chinese Aeronautical Establishment and chief expert of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), stated that the development of engine cores, inlet systems, and exhaust systems is full of challenges, and some components need appropriate adjustment to ensure maximum flight efficiency across the full speed range. Compared with the Concorde of that era, we now have more advanced aerodynamic simulation, new materials, and flight control technologies.

However, it is still a long way off before ordinary people can fly on commercial supersonic passenger aircraft. Industry estimates suggest at least about 20 years of sustained R&D and validation will be needed.