A look into the future of business aircraft.

Business aircraft are here to stay. They are an essential and necessary tool of the Global economy. But what is the future? What is needed to increase productivity, like the internet, is speed.

Practical air travel was not available until the 1930's, and in 1930 you could fly a Ford Tri Motor or other up to date aircraft 100 MPH. By 1958, only 28 years later, the jet era was here, and you could fly 550 MPH, an increase of more than 500 percent.

Now in 2006, 48 years since the jet era began, we are still flying the same speed. What happened? Since 1958 great improvements in fuel efficiency, reduction of noise and increased range have been achieved, but performance, speed and altitude remain almost the same.

The only logical next step is Supersonic, and I believe the Supersonic Business Jet will lead Supersonic Airliners. Probably the biggest hurdle to overcome is noise from the Sonic Boom. New technology on the Sonic Boom and how to reduce it is here. New shapes of aircraft pave the way to reduce the Boom to only a distant sound of thunder that you would only notice in quiet surroundings. If you were talking, it probably would not be noticeable at all.

The Quiet Supersonic Transport (QSST) is on the drawing boards, and could become operational by 2011, if investors step up to the challenge. At this time, all technical issues have been addressed and no show stoppers have appeared. The QSST will cut time in half and the speed would be double current business aircraft. The only down side at this time is range, as the QSST will probably be limited to 4300 nautical miles, while some ultra long range aircraft today can fly over 6000 nautical miles non-stop. Flying at MACH 1.8 Van Nuys to Newark would be about 2.2 hours, and Van Nuys to Honolulu about 2.4 hours. I see many companies sharing ownership for long trips and continuing to use current performance jets for domestic flights.

The new QSST will meet stage 4 noise level (the next future requirement), will be just as easy to handle, maintain and fly as today's large cabin aircraft. No special ground equipment will be required and no new requirements on the airports; same taxiways and runways.

The first operational Supersonic Business Jet will have a cabin for 12 persons maximum, about the same as a G-2 today. However, the exterior will be longer [130 feet) with shorter wings. It will need less than an 8,000 foot runway at maximum take off gross weight, and will be quieter on take off than any jet at Van Nuys today.

The time is now for the first big step in speed since the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 were introduced. You can't stop progress; it is about to happen, it is overdue.

Information for this article was provided by Clay Lacey. Clay Lacy brought the first business jet to Van Nuys Airport in November 1964. Clay Lacy Aviation looks to the future for introduction of Supersonic Business Aircraft.