Aerion plans to bring back the Golden Age of Flying, only this time, it will be done by an environmentally conscious, technology-innovative company. Tom Vice, Chairman, President and CEO of Aerion, lends his expertise in supersonic aviation to the podcast for a conversation with host Grayson Brulte on all things Aerion, plus insights into why the aviation industry stopped innovating and what the future holds.Tom walks us through his journey into aviation, from watching every Apollo launch on a small, black and white TV to working on the B2 Bomber to the “most incredible thing” he worked on at Northrop Grumman: the James Webb Space Telescope, which Tom believes could be the tool that finds life beyond Earth. Tom recalls the lessons he’s learned along the way and how they have shaped his vision for innovation and sustainability.Tom shares the vision for Aerion Connect, which builds out the entire travel ecosystem and experience—FBOs, travelling to-from airports, airplanes—to allow travelers to experience the joy of travelling once again. All of this aligns with Aerion’s vison to connect any two points in the world within three hours in a more compassionate and empathetic way, without spending so much time in an airplane. Essentially, get to your destination, enjoy your destination, and learn and love from it.Next, we step into Aerion’s highly anticipated AS2 jet and hear plans for when it will start soaring through the sky. We learn about the fully customizable, highly digitized, “Whisper Quiet” cabin; how “Boomless Cruise” is a game changing supersonic technology that’s closer to commercial reality than most people think; and how the AS2 can reinvent business by cutting significant travel times.The conversation digs deeper into the second revolutionary aspect that Aerion is perfecting: new fuels and power sources. Tom shares how customers, investors and the general public appreciate Aerion’s commitment using biofuels that are kind to our planet and are excited to see the AS2’s aerodynamically clean and efficient engine. Grayson and Tom touch upon Aerion’s partnership with Canadian-based Carbon Engineering and how they are setting Aerion’s advancements apart from the industry.Throughout the conversation, Tom touches on Aerion 2050, the company’s strategic plan to go to hypersonic, branch into supersonics for commercial aviation, what future fuel and power sources will make this a reality, the AS3, and take us inside of Aerion Park in Melbourne, Fla., where the AS2 will be designed, built and tested.To close out, Grayson and Tom discuss why aerospace innovation, specifically with supersonic jets, stopped in the mid-20th Century. From the difficult challenges to overcome environmental and noise concerns to the increased focus on revenue and dollars in commercial aviation, Tom discusses why aerospace, once of the birthplace of innovation, became stagnant; but offers optimism for what the future holds for the industry.Learn more about Aerion at www.aerionsupersonic.com.Subscribe to SAE Tomorrow Today or visit www.sae.org/podcasts to stay up to date on all the latest information from SAE. If you like what you’re hearing, please review and comment on your podcast app.

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