Honeywell recently wrapped up a two-year testing program with NASA to demonstrate avionics technology that can predict sonic booms in supersonic flights. The completion of the test program comes as NASA was finishing its preliminary design review of its Quiet Supersonic Transport (QUeSST), the initial design stage of the agency’s planned low boom flight demonstration (LBFD) experimental airplane.

Honeywell’s participation involved demonstrating how predictive sonic boom software and display technology can be integrated in a Dassault Falcon 900EX, equipped with Honeywell’s Primus Epic. "Since the business jet was flying subsonic, a speed and/or altitude multiplier was used with the software to show how the sonic boom carpet would be displayed under given conditions," a Honeywell spokeswoman told AIN.

The technology is designed to help mitigate sonic booms over populated areas by alerting pilots where and how people may hear them on the ground. The sonic boom is a primary obstacle to supersonic flight, since many countries do not permit it over land. “With predictive technology and knowledge, pilots can change course and minimize the boom over populated areas,” said Bob Witwer, Honeywell Aerospace's vice president of advanced technology.

Over the past few decades NASA has been collaborating on the Cockpit Interactive Sonic Boom Display Avionics software that uses the aircraft’s position and flight parameters to predict sonic boom impact over the course of the flight path. The two-year test program involved integrating the software with Honeywell’s interactive navigation technology in the cockpit.

“This technology could prove to be useful for NASA’s future planned low-boom flight demonstration experimental airplane,” added Brett Pauer, NASA's commercial supersonic technology subproject manager for overland supersonic flight. “This airplane is being designed to gather community noise response data that may help remove the regulatory speed restriction to overland commercial supersonic flight.”