Colorado-based Boom Supersonic, an aviation startup, took a quantum leap in supersonic flight with the recent successful test flight of its XB-1 demonstrator aircraft. The event, conducted at the Mojave Air & Space Port, might just be one more giant step toward the rebirth of commercial supersonic travel—something not experienced since the Concorde’s retirement twenty years ago.
The prototype plane of Boom, XB-1, took off to 7,120 feet over the Mojave Desert at a top speed of 246 knots, or 283 mph. The plane was piloted by Boom’s Chief Test Pilot, Bill “Doc” Shoemaker, and completed its flight in 12 minutes. It has further epitomized Boom’s supersonic technology and provided a clear path to Overture, the full-scale supersonic commercial airliner under development at Boom.
Boom Supersonic has teamed up with FRI for the XB-1 test flights, which are to take place in the Mojave Desert’s supersonic corridor. FRI provides key flight test support to Boom, including using a T-38 Talon as a chase aircraft and pilot proficiency trainer. The collaboration with FRI will enable Boom to utilize superior facilities and equipment that will finalize and fly the XB-1.
This was an important partnership, as all testing of the XB-1 would be conducted out of FRI’s facilities at the Mojave Air & Space Port, said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic. With a similar flight profile to that of the XB-1, the T-38 Talon would hence act well as a chase aircraft, ensuring that test flights are safe and efficient.
The development of XB-1 has been a long process; this aircraft was supposed to fly back in 2017. Though Boom’s successful flight may demonstrate the progress and commitment of its mission despite the delays. The XB-1 is powered by three 1950s-era J85 turbojet engines, similar to those used in the Northrop T-38 trainer and F-5 fighter. Though these are not representative of Overture’s final design, their input data will be useful for the eventual final development process of Boom’s proprietary Symphony engines.
Ambitious, Boom envisions Overture to be a supersonic airliner in a class of its own: 64-80 passengers at Mach 1.7, about twice as fast as today’s subsonic airliners. The company has won contracts from major airlines—American Airlines, United Airlines, Japan Airlines—and, to date, over $700 million in funding. That is the case, but overall, the development cost for Overture hovers at $8 billion.
Of course, one of the big problems Boom faces is that existing legislation forbids sonic booms over land, while Overture supersonic flights would be over water. Technologies developed on demonstrators like NASA’s X-59—designed to be quiet, reducing the sonic boom to a sonic “thump”—may relax such regulations in the future.
Another critical aspect of Boom’s mission is sustainability. The company is committed to using sustainable aviation fuel for Overture in its quest to make it a carbon-neutral aircraft. SAF, if produced from renewable sources and combined with carbon captured from the atmosphere, can enormously reduce the impact on the environment from flying at supersonic speeds.
The successful flight of the XB-1 represents only a large stone marker along the beginning of the path. It’s going to have a series of up to 15 test flights, slowly building out its flight envelope and breaking the sound barrier. Progress is being made by Boom on its Greensboro, NC “superfactory,” set to open this summer and be the production site for Overture.
The mainstream, ambitious dream of flying supersonic has also come closer with Boom Supersonic’s continuous enhancement of technology and the clearing of regulatory and environmental barriers. The flight of XB-1 is representative of the commitment, creativity, and dedication of the Boom team to making a difference in the future of aviation.