Psychoacoustics Research at NASA to Enable Quiet Overland Supersonic Flight

A commercial flight from New York to Los Angeles still takes about 6 hours, which is no shorter than the flight time 60 years ago. From a regulatory perspective, how fast aircraft may fly is limited by aircraft noise. When aircraft travel faster than the speed of sound shock waves form, creating an audible sonic boom on the ground. Historically, sonic booms have been loud and unacceptable. NASA is preparing to demonstrate technology that quiets shock waves by changing the aircraft shape. To assess public acceptability of quiet supersonic flight, NASA is planning a national campaign of community noise surveys in the early 2020s using a low boom flight demonstration aircraft. The survey results will inform a possible change in regulations to allow quiet supersonic flight overland. This presentation summarizes psychoacoustics research from recent laboratory and field studies to prepare for the survey campaign.