Back in 2021, Denver-based aviation business Boom Supersonic took up the challenge to develop the first independently developed supersonic jet in history. Three years later, the company has announced the successful flight of its supersonic aircraft demonstrator, the XB-1. An important step towards commercialising the bigger Overture aircraft and, by doing so, bringing back civil supersonic travel after the retirement of the Concorde two decades ago.
“Today, XB-1 took flight in the same hallowed airspace where the Bell X-1 first broke the sound barrier in 1947. I’ve been looking forward to this flight since founding Boom in 2014, and it marks the most significant milestone yet on our path to bring supersonic travel to passengers worldwide”, said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic.
The XB-1, a small-scale model of the Overture measuring one third of the bigger aircraft, was tested at the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California. Boom Chief Test Pilot Bill ‘Doc’ Shoemaker carried out the test flight, while Test Pilot Tristan ‘Geppetto’ Brandenburg flew a T-38 chase aircraft in order to monitor the flight. All objectives were fulfilled during the flight, including reaching a height of 7,120 feet (2.17 kilometres) and a top speed of 238 knots (440 kilometres per hour).
“Everyone on the XB-1 team should be incredibly proud of this achievement. It has been a privilege to share this journey with so many dedicated and talented professionals. The experience we have gained in reaching this milestone will be invaluable to Boom’s revival of supersonic travel”, said Shoemaker.
The successful first flight of the XB-1 is especially important because the bigger Overture will be built based on the XB-1 model, only three times as big. Both aircraft are able to fly two times as fast as today’s airliners and are supposed to run on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel. Carbon fiber composites, sophisticated avionics, digitally tuned aerodynamics and an advanced supersonic propulsion system are all part of the design of both models.
130 orders and pre-orders are already in the books from major airlines such as American Airlines, United Airlines and Japan Airlines. If all goes according to plan, the Overture should be able to transport 64–80 people at Mach 1.7, which is roughly twice as fast as today’s aircraft. This means it would only take about 3.5 hours to fly from New York to the United Kingdom, 8 hours from Los Angeles to Sydney and 6 hours from San Francisco to Tokyo. Contrary to the Concorde, which used to charge around 12,000 dollars for a round-trip ticket, Boom hopes its supersonic planes will be able to fly at much lower fares.
