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How is air travel returning to supersonic speeds?

As Concorde’s commercial service turns 50, we hear about the engineering challenges behind supersonic aviation and ask whether they’ll ever be overcome.

It’s exactly half a century since two Concorde jets took off from Paris and London respectively. The supersonic jet would come to define top end luxury travel. But Concorde has also been retired for nearly half that time, famously making its final flight to Bristol, UK where it was built, in 2003.

What is Concorde’s engineering legacy? And will supersonic speeds ever be a reality for air travellers again?

Tom Whipple is at Aerospace Bristol, back on-board Concorde which these days is stowed safely in its hangar. He meets Concorde’s former Chief Engineer John Britton. He also hears what it will take to overcome the engineering challenges of supersonic flight from Dr Kshitij Sabnis, lecturer in Aerospace Engineering at Queen Mary University of London. And speaks to founder and CEO of US start up Boom Supersonic Blake Scholl who wants to make supersonic air travel accessible to all.

To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk, search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producer: Tim Dodd, Kate White, Clare Salisbury
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

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27 minutes

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Last Monday20:30
BBC Radio 4

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