Boom Technology, a private company striving to bring supersonic air travel back, achieved its first supersonic flight with the XB-1 demonstrator plane. This test flight paves the way for the development of Overture, a planned supersonic passenger jet capable of flying at twice the speed of current commercial airliners. Boom aims to make supersonic travel more affordable and accessible than its predecessor, the Concorde, which faced financial challenges and was retired in 2003.
A private company aiming to build the first supersonic airliner since the Concorde retired over two decades ago achieved its first sound-barrier-busting flight over California's Mojave desert on Tuesday. At the controls, pilot Brandenburg brought the Boom Technology's XB-1 demonstrator plane to a successful landing at the end of the approximately 34-minute flight. The plane hit Mach 1.122, or 750 mph, at an altitude of about 35,000 feet, marking a significant milestone for the company.
'We're ready to scale up. We're ready to build the passenger supersonic jet that will pick up where Concorde left off and ultimately allow the rest of us to fly supersonic,' said Boom's founder and CEO, Blake Scholl. This Mach 1 milestone was reached on the 12th test flight of the XB-1. The company says it plans to incorporate what it learns from the XB-1 into its next project, the Overture, a supersonic passenger airliner that can carry up to 80 passengers. The Overture is designed to maintain a cruising speed of Mach 1.7, or roughly twice as fast as current commercial jet airliners. According to Boom, United, American, and Japan Airlines have all expressed interest in purchasing the Overture. In a statement emailed to NPR, United Airlines said that in 2021, it 'reached a conditional, non-binding purchase agreement' with the company to buy 15 of the airliners, with 'options for up to an additional 35 aircraft.' The Overture is expected to be ready for commercial flights by 2030. The plane is expected to be capable of transoceanic flights at altitudes up to 60,000 feet — much higher than conventional jet airlines — 'high enough to see the curvature of the earth below,' according to the company. 'Flying at supersonic speeds tends to be smoother than subsonic flight because at 60,000 feet, you're flying above most turbulence,' it says. Unlike Concorde, which proved uneconomical to operate, Boom says airlines should be able to make a profit selling seats on Overture at fares similar to those for first and business class seats on current commercial airliners. 'The biggest problem with Concorde was it was just simply too expensive to operate,' Scholl said. 'So the single most important problem to solve is not to break the sound barrier, but to break the economic barrier.
SUPERSONIC AIR TRAVEL BOOM SUPERSONIC XB-1 OVERTURE CONCORDE
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