超音速航班的真正未來並不取決於理查德·布蘭森,而或許取決於特朗普

Sir Richard Branson wants to bring back supersonic travel. Thirteen years since Concorde ended operations, the Virgin tycoon has revealed the prototype design for a new generation of supersonic business jets developed by the Branson-backed startup company Boom, based in Denver. The firm claims its planes will allow “affordable” journeys from London to New York in just three-and-a-half hours for approximately $5,000 (￡4,000) return, the same as current business class tickets.

理查德·布蘭森先生想要將超音速旅行恢復運營。自從協和式超音速噴射客機終止操作13年以來，維珍航空巨頭公開了新一代超音速商務噴射機的原型設計，由布蘭森支持的創業公司布姆研發，基地設在丹佛。公司稱它的飛機可以實現從倫敦到紐約僅用三個半小時，機票費用是“負擔得起的”，大概爲5,000美元（合4,000英鎊），與現在的商務艙機票價格相同。

But there’s still a question over whether Boom can overcome the problems that hindered Concorde. Another supersonic project in the US may already have the edge over Branson’s preferred design. And the success of both projects – and the future of supersonic flight in general – may ultimately depend on the decisions of President-elect Donald Trump.

但是還有一個問題就是，布姆是否能夠克服之前阻止協和式超音速噴射客機運行的問題。美國另一個超音速項目或許已經成爲了布蘭森優選的設計選擇。兩個項目的成功——超音速航班的整體未來——或許最終取決於總統選舉勝出的唐納德·特朗普的決定。

Boom’s XB-1 will be more efficient than Concorde thanks to lighter, cheaper composite materials and advances in aerodynamics and jet engines. This will be helped by carrying 40 passengers per flight as opposed to Concorde’s 100, despite its ticket price. But ultimately, Boom doesn’t appear to do enough to address one of the key reasons Concorde failed.

布姆公司的XB-1，使用了更加輕盈、廉價的複合材料，在航空動力學以及噴射發動機方面都很先進，這使得XB-1比協和式超音速噴射客機的效能更高。儘管機票價格高昂，但是與協和式超音速噴射客機只能載客100人相比，XB-1每趟航班只載客40人。但是最終，布姆似乎並未能夠足夠清楚地陳述令協和式超音速噴射客機停止運營的關鍵原因之一。

Just four years after Concorde’s first flight in 1969, the US effectively banned supersonic travel over its mainland due to concerns of the harmful effects of the sonic boom on the public. This then restricted Concorde’s operations to going supersonic only over the sea, severely limiting the potential routes. Boom is currently not proposing a design that would go far enough to allow flights over land because it doesn’t address the noise pollution issue.

協和式超音速噴射客機在1969年首次飛行，僅4年之後，由於擔心超音波爆聲對於公衆的有害影響，美國有效禁止了在美國大陸上的超音速旅行。這一禁令將協和式超音速噴射客機的飛行限制在洋麪，嚴重限制了潛在的路線。布姆目前並未提出一項可以在美國大陸上進行飛行的設計方案，因爲它沒有陳述其噪音污染問題。