Boom: Supersonic speeds for everyday travel with Blake Scholl | E2006
11 Sep 2024 (8 days ago)
Boom Supersonic’s Blake Scholl joins Jason
- Aviation has become safer over time due to root cause reviews of accidents and the industry's commitment to learning from mistakes.
- Allowing new technologies like self-driving cars to enter the market, even if not initially perfect, is crucial for improvement and achieving safety.
- The segment is sponsored by Vanta, Squarespace, and OpenPhone, which offer services like security compliance, website building, and business phone systems.
Commercial flight speed & Concorde history
- The Concorde's final flight was in 2003.
- The Concorde program failed due to a combination of factors, including high ticket prices, limited capacity, and a lack of product-market fit.
- The development of the Concorde was driven by national prestige and Cold War competition rather than commercial viability.
- Concorde flights were primarily focused on transatlantic routes due to noise concerns associated with sonic booms over land.
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Boom's XB-1 test flights and airline partnerships
- The goal is to make supersonic flight accessible to a wide range of travelers, with the initial offering being a premium class experience at approximately a quarter of the cost of Concorde tickets.
- The company projects a round-trip ticket price of around $5,000, which is comparable to current business class fares, and anticipates higher prices in the initial years due to limited supply.
- The company has secured approximately 130 orders and pre-orders from airlines such as United Airlines, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines, representing the first five years of production.
Pricing, market comparison, and venture capital's view on hardware startups
- The price of a Boeing 737 is typically around $120 million, but due to it being a commodity market with competition from Airbus, the actual selling price is usually around half, $60 or $70 million.
- While private buyers could theoretically purchase a 737 (known as a BBJ, or Boeing Business Jet), the size of the aircraft and its incompatibility with most airports make it impractical for private use.
- Boom Supersonic's Overture aircraft, designed for supersonic commercial travel, will be slightly longer than an Airbus A320 but narrower, with a passenger cabin seating configuration that has yet to be revealed but may feature a unique design maximizing space.
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Evolution of startup market and hardware innovation
- There was a period when hardware startups were not common, which is unusual considering history.
- The cost of travel, whether by car or plane, has been decreasing, allowing more people to travel more frequently.
- While reducing travel costs is beneficial, an excessive focus on short-term financial results can be detrimental.
Boeing's innovation decline and attracting talent to projects
- Boeing was once known for its innovation and efficiency in developing new aircraft, investing heavily and seeing returns through sales.
- A shift in leadership led to a focus on short-term financial gains and incremental product improvements rather than ambitious innovation.
- This lack of innovation has made it difficult for Boeing to attract top talent, who are drawn to companies and projects perceived as more groundbreaking and exciting.
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Working with tech legends and overcoming engine design challenges
- Michael Moritz and Paul Graham are described as investors who are most helpful when companies are facing challenges, offering candid advice and support.
- A decision was made to build their own engines for the supersonic airplane after concluding that relying on Rolls-Royce was not the best option.
- Rolls-Royce publicly announced the end of their partnership, leading to a loss of investor confidence and difficulty securing new customers.
Cross-discipline innovation
- Airbnb has improved its platform by focusing on design elements like coffee stations, outdoor seating areas, and game tables, enhancing the user experience.
- Tesla's approach to innovation involves initially integrating existing technologies, as seen with the use of Mercedes components in early Model S vehicles, and later focusing on developing new technologies in-house, such as their HVAC systems.
- Boom Supersonic's approach to building supersonic aircraft involves integrating existing technologies, such as carbon fiber fuselages and augmented reality vision systems, with plans to incorporate more innovative technologies in future iterations.
Learning from Air France 447 and cockpit safety design
- The pitot tube, an air probe that measures airspeed, is located on the nose of test aircraft for accurate readings in clean air.
- Air France Flight 447 crashed due to a design flaw in the Airbus cockpit, where the autopilot averaged the inputs of two pilots giving opposing commands, leading to a stall and crash.
- The new cockpit design features force feedback side-sticks that allow pilots to feel each other's inputs and the autopilot's actions, improving situational awareness and preventing similar accidents.
Cockpit technologies and the MH370 mystery
- MH370's disappearance remains a mystery, with some speculating about intentional actions and potential cover-ups.
- Overture will feature a "remote tech support" system allowing ground-based pilots to see and feel what the pilots in the air are experiencing, but not control the aircraft.
- Real-time data streaming from aircraft, including cockpit cameras, is suggested as a way to improve safety and accident investigation, although privacy concerns and potential for manipulation exist.
Public perception of aviation risks and airport security impact
- The most dangerous part of flying is driving to the airport, not flying itself.
- Airport security may have killed more people than terrorists due to more people choosing to drive, which is statistically more dangerous.
- Increased airport security after 9/11 added friction to the flying experience, leading to a decrease in air travel and an increase in driving, particularly on shorter routes.
The future of autonomous aviation
- Small, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, particularly air taxis, are likely to be the first to achieve autonomy due to their short missions, constrained environments, and the economic incentive of not requiring a pilot.
- While autopilot systems are highly advanced and used for the majority of commercial flights, particularly during cruise, edge cases and the need for human intervention in unexpected situations mean that fully autonomous commercial airplanes are a long way off.
- Supersonic aircraft like the one being developed have the potential to not only save travel time but also to reduce the impact of jet lag by enabling passengers to arrive closer to their normal waking hours.