The Future of Supersonic, with Blake Scholl (CEO of Boom Supersonic)

In a major shift, the U.S. government is moving to overturn a 50-year ban on civilian supersonic flight over land—a regulation that’s defined the boundaries of commercial aviation since 1973. It’s a pivotal moment for aerospace, and a timely one for this conversation with Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic. In this episode of Valley of Depth, we dive into the political, technical, and economic forces driving the return of high-speed air travel. We cover: Why the U.S. banned supersonic flight and why that’s finally changing How Boom plans to make supersonic flight sustainable and commercially viable The decision to build a new engine in-house after legacy players stepped away What the real economics of airline orders look like and who’s truly onboard How regulatory shifts, geopolitical dynamics, and climate pressure intersect And why Blake believes faster travel isn’t just a luxury, it’s a necessity …and much more. • Chapters • 00:00 - Intro 01:07 - Payload Pro ad 01:49 - Supersonic ban repeal 03:48 - Why were supersonic planes banned in the first place? 08:47 - Next steps for supersonic 11:10 - How long until we get a supersonic jet? 12:34 - Why Blake started Boom 16:00 - Why now for supersonic? 18:23 - State of China's commercial supersonic space 19:48 - Boom Supersonic's engines 23:56 - When will the Symphony Engine having a working model? 29:09 - Engineer challenges beyond the engine 29:52 - Engineering the quiet boom 33:49 - What does a sonic boom sound and feel like? 36:11 - Vertical integration 38:05 - Routes that Overture would fly first 38:47 - How much capital would Boom Supersonic need to build their first plane? 40:12 - What did Aerion get wrong? 44:22 - What will the supersonic competition look like? 45:35 - Northrop Grumman partnership 49:58 - Blake's mission behind Boom 52:60 - What will Boom look like in the future? • Show notes • Boom Supersonic’s socials — https://x.com/boomaero Blake’s socials — https://x.com/bscholl Boom’s website — https://boomsupersonic.com/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies. Payload: www.payloadspace.com Ignition: www.ignition-news.com Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com