On Friday, March 22, Boom Supersonic announced a major milestone in the development of a supersonic passenger jet.
Boom, which is currently building its production facility at the Piedmont Triad International Airport, announced the successful flight of XB-1 – the world’s first independently developed supersonic jet – at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California.
The XB-1, Boom’s technology demonstrator aircraft, has many of the advanced features that will be incorporated in the Overture, Boom’s passenger jet, such as carbon fiber composites, advanced avionics, digitally-optimized aerodynamics and an advanced supersonic propulsion system.
XB-1 met all of the test objectives on this flight, including achieving an altitude of 7,120 feet and speeds up to 273 mph.
On the completion of the first test flight, Blake Scholl, the founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, said, “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.”
The XB-1 program will provide the foundation for the design and development of the Overture, validating key technologies and innovations. The XB-1 is made almost entirely from carbon fiber composite materials, enabling it to realize a sophisticated aerodynamic design in a strong, lightweight structure.
Boom plans for the Overture to carry 64-80 passengers at a speed of Mach 1.7, or about twice the speed of today’s airliners. The Overture is also being designed to run on sustainable aviation fuel.
Boom reportedly has 130 orders and pre-orders for the Overture from American Airlines, United Airlines and Japan Airlines.
Wait! It’s not electric? Does the President know about this?
7,000 ft @ 270 mph with no passengers sounds like a pretty ambitious test! Did the State of North Carolina sponsor this test?
You do know how testing prototype airplanes works right? You have to start at the most basic speeds and altitudes and then go up from there. It’s called safety.
That really is a milestone for Boom. I hope they can make it work. It’s hard not to wish them well with their PTIA facility almost complete.
Great job everyone at Boom! Excited to see where this goes.