Relentless Building Long-Range Supersonic Planes | Ian Brooke, Astro Mechanica
Dec 22, 2025
Ian Brooke, founder and CEO of Astro Mechanica, dives into the future of affordable supersonic travel. He discusses the lessons learned from Concorde's failure and the importance of targeting niche markets first. Ian shares how his childhood tinkering shaped his obsession with quality design and engineered solutions for real-world maintenance. He emphasizes the need for integration across aviation sectors, financial outlay over tech hurdles, and cultivating a culture that values persistence and innovation, all aimed at making high-performance air travel attainable for everyone.
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Integrated Travel Company, Not Just Engines
- Ian Brooke frames Astro Mechanica as an end-to-end travel company, not just an engine shop.
- The company's mission is enabling low-cost, long-range supersonic flight through full integration of engines, airframes, and operations.
Start Niche Before Scaling To Airlines
- Do not target commercial airliners first; start with niche, high-value customers to validate technology and economics.
- Use early niche revenue to fund iterations and scale toward broader markets over time.
Utilization Drives Aviation Economics
- High utilization and fleet size drive viable economics for air travel; low-utilization models (like Concorde) fail.
- Supersonic must solve operating-cost, utilization, and fleet-scale problems, not just speed.