Far off? Maybe. But North Shore mayors push plan to curb supersonic air travel noise
Brookville Brookville Mayor Dan Serota, seen here last week, is among several North Shore mayors concerned about supersonic transport. Credit: Neil Miller
When planes glide down runways in Queens, “the walls rattle” in Nassau County's North Shore villages, Brookville Mayor Daniel Serota said.
So with development advancing on a new age of supersonic travel — capable of breaking the speed of sound — a group of North Shore village mayors want there to be regulations in place.
To prevent earsplitting noises in flight-path communities, the mayors of Brookville, Matinecock, Cove Neck and Mill Neck launched the Regional SST (supersonic transport) Oversight Coalition. The mayors want to build a dialogue with airline companies as they develop the blazing-fast planes for commercial travel.
One company, Boom Supersonic, has completed more than a half-dozen flights of a test, subsonic aircraft that will serve as the basis for a commercial plane called Overture, according to the company's website. Overture is expected to reach speeds of Mach 1.7 — around 1,300 mph — and carry up to 80 passengers, the company said.
Overture expects to achieve certifications from the Federal Aviation Administration and European Union Aviation Safety Agency by the end of the decade, said Laura Hein, a company spokeswoman.
While commercial supersonic flights are still a far-off prospect, their development brings fresh concerns. It's reminiscent of when the Concorde — a supersonic airliner — sparked protests on Long Island and New York City in the 1970s, some mayors said.
“Even though they’re going to be making this plane supposedly not as loud as the old SST, the Concorde, it will still be loud,” Serota said in an interview. “You have these engines that have to travel twice the speed of sound and they’re going to make noise no matter what.”
Hein said the Overture will comply with the same noise standards for subsonic aircraft and that, unlike the former Concorde airliner, it will not use afterburners to take off. An afterburner, which causes loud noise, adds raw fuel into an engines' exhaust to generate extra thrust.
“Our goal is for airport communities to be excited about supersonic travel coming to their area, not worried about their windows rattling,” Hein said in a statement. The plane will “only break the sound barrier over water where the boom cannot reach land.”
East Hills Mayor Michael Koblenz said airline noise has been an issue for years without any resolve.
Current noise regulations are not enforced adequately and are the source of residents' regular complaints, he said.
Planes continuously fly over Long Island homes too low and too often, Koblenz said. Authorities need to better control current air traffic flow to ensure that the next generation of faster-than-sound travel doesn't compound existing problems, he said.
“Why don’t you deal with the regular plane first and then move on to supersonic?” Koblenz said.
Last year, the Town of North Hempstead allocated $40,000 to retain an attorney to determine if a lawsuit could be brought against the FAA, town spokesman Umberto Mignardi said. North Hempstead and Hempstead Town filed a petition against the agency over the summer, according to news releases.
In August, local officials urged the FAA to re-implement a 2019 agreement that kept aircrafts approaching Kennedy Airport at a higher elevation within 15 miles of runways, Newsday has reported.
Exposure to high levels of aircraft noise is associated with health issues, including an increased risk of cardiovascular problems, according to several studies.
Throughout the 1970s, Long Island officials, advocates and residents fiercely opposed the Concorde, an earlier-version of supersonic transport. More than 1,000 cars purposely jammed roads at Kennedy Airport in February 1976 to protest the British-French Concorde superliner, Newsday reported at the time. Their chief concern: The plane was multitudes louder than the typical jet.
In 1977, the Port Authority was forced to lift a 19-month ban on supersonic transport after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block flights from flying into Queens, according to Newsday's archives. Concorde jets landed at Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1977.
At the time, flying from New York to Paris on the Concorde cost $821 for a one-way trip, Newsday reported.
On Oct. 22, 2003, the 100-seat Concorde flew for the last time out of Kennedy. Demand for the luxury trip across the ocean — which lasted three hours and cost thousands — declined as airlines began prioritizing cost effectiveness over speed, Newsday reported.
Now, supersonic transportation is ascendant and local officials are once again sounding the alarm about the technology.
Tammy Jones, a spokeswoman for the FAA, said all civil aircraft flights are prohibited from regularly breaking the sound barrier. She said the agency is working with international authorities to establish landing and takeoff noise standards for supersonic aircraft.
When planes glide down runways in Queens, “the walls rattle” in Nassau County's North Shore villages, Brookville Mayor Daniel Serota said.
So with development advancing on a new age of supersonic travel — capable of breaking the speed of sound — a group of North Shore village mayors want there to be regulations in place.
To prevent earsplitting noises in flight-path communities, the mayors of Brookville, Matinecock, Cove Neck and Mill Neck launched the Regional SST (supersonic transport) Oversight Coalition. The mayors want to build a dialogue with airline companies as they develop the blazing-fast planes for commercial travel.
One company, Boom Supersonic, has completed more than a half-dozen flights of a test, subsonic aircraft that will serve as the basis for a commercial plane called Overture, according to the company's website. Overture is expected to reach speeds of Mach 1.7 — around 1,300 mph — and carry up to 80 passengers, the company said.
Far off, but too close
- A group of Nassau County mayors formed a regional group to lobby for regulations to prevent airline noise from supersonic air travel.
- At least one company, Boom Supersonic, is developing a commercial plane capable of breaking the speed of sound.
- Officials say the concerns are similar to those raised in the 1970s when supersonic air travel was ascendant.
Overture expects to achieve certifications from the Federal Aviation Administration and European Union Aviation Safety Agency by the end of the decade, said Laura Hein, a company spokeswoman.
While commercial supersonic flights are still a far-off prospect, their development brings fresh concerns. It's reminiscent of when the Concorde — a supersonic airliner — sparked protests on Long Island and New York City in the 1970s, some mayors said.
“Even though they’re going to be making this plane supposedly not as loud as the old SST, the Concorde, it will still be loud,” Serota said in an interview. “You have these engines that have to travel twice the speed of sound and they’re going to make noise no matter what.”
Hein said the Overture will comply with the same noise standards for subsonic aircraft and that, unlike the former Concorde airliner, it will not use afterburners to take off. An afterburner, which causes loud noise, adds raw fuel into an engines' exhaust to generate extra thrust.
“Our goal is for airport communities to be excited about supersonic travel coming to their area, not worried about their windows rattling,” Hein said in a statement. The plane will “only break the sound barrier over water where the boom cannot reach land.”
East Hills Mayor Michael Koblenz said airline noise has been an issue for years without any resolve.
Current noise regulations are not enforced adequately and are the source of residents' regular complaints, he said.
Planes continuously fly over Long Island homes too low and too often, Koblenz said. Authorities need to better control current air traffic flow to ensure that the next generation of faster-than-sound travel doesn't compound existing problems, he said.
“Why don’t you deal with the regular plane first and then move on to supersonic?” Koblenz said.
Last year, the Town of North Hempstead allocated $40,000 to retain an attorney to determine if a lawsuit could be brought against the FAA, town spokesman Umberto Mignardi said. North Hempstead and Hempstead Town filed a petition against the agency over the summer, according to news releases.
In August, local officials urged the FAA to re-implement a 2019 agreement that kept aircrafts approaching Kennedy Airport at a higher elevation within 15 miles of runways, Newsday has reported.
Exposure to high levels of aircraft noise is associated with health issues, including an increased risk of cardiovascular problems, according to several studies.
Throughout the 1970s, Long Island officials, advocates and residents fiercely opposed the Concorde, an earlier-version of supersonic transport. More than 1,000 cars purposely jammed roads at Kennedy Airport in February 1976 to protest the British-French Concorde superliner, Newsday reported at the time. Their chief concern: The plane was multitudes louder than the typical jet.
In 1977, the Port Authority was forced to lift a 19-month ban on supersonic transport after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block flights from flying into Queens, according to Newsday's archives. Concorde jets landed at Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1977.
At the time, flying from New York to Paris on the Concorde cost $821 for a one-way trip, Newsday reported.
On Oct. 22, 2003, the 100-seat Concorde flew for the last time out of Kennedy. Demand for the luxury trip across the ocean — which lasted three hours and cost thousands — declined as airlines began prioritizing cost effectiveness over speed, Newsday reported.
Now, supersonic transportation is ascendant and local officials are once again sounding the alarm about the technology.
Tammy Jones, a spokeswoman for the FAA, said all civil aircraft flights are prohibited from regularly breaking the sound barrier. She said the agency is working with international authorities to establish landing and takeoff noise standards for supersonic aircraft.
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