There was a buzz in the air the Farnborough International Air Show in July, when at a packed Boom Supersonic press conference, the aircraft manufacturer looking to bring back supersonic flight to the skies, revealed its plans were firmly on track.
Founder and chief executive officer Blake Scholl, explained to rows of journalists that its demonstrator aircraft XB-1 had completed its first test flight at the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California.
Boom he noted has so far secured 130 Overture orders and pre-orders with global airlines, including American Airlines, United Airlines and Japan Airlines. He believes there are more than 600 profitable routes that the supersonic airliner will be able to operate on, and Overture will carry up to 80 passengers.
Overture is designed to fly 4,250 nautical miles. At this max range, Overture can fly nonstop on routes like New York to Frankfurt or Tokyo to Seattle. For longer routes, Overture may require a refuelling stop.
Overture will be fitted with its Boom’s purpose-built turbofan Symphony engine and Boom has accelerated development of a full-scale engine core, which will be operational in late 2025.
The engine has 35,000 LB thrust, hollow-core fan blades, will be up to 100% sustainable air fuel compatible and utilises additive manufacturing in its manufacturing.
Earlier this month another milestone was then completed when XB-1 took to the skies for the second and then a third time on 13 September. The cadence of test flights is picking up speed, as it continues to target supersonic flight before the end of the year.
During this flight, the team continued to test key systems and performance as they systematically expand the flight envelope. The pilot, Geppetto, took XB-1 to the maximum pitch and saw attitudes that Boom expects to see in flight.
This testing was done at a safe, higher altitude to ensure there were no unexpected handling qualities. This kind of testing is done so that the first time it happens, it is not in a critical phase of flight.
The team also checked the performance of the environmental control system (ECS), which controls the temperature and pressurisation of the cockpit. This test is to ensure that the ECS is functioning as designed before XB-1 goes to higher altitudes, where it is colder and the pressure is lower.
The landing gear was also extended and retracted at higher speeds than its previous flight (215 knots), marking the second of three steps working up to the maximum safe speed for raising and lowering the gear, which is 225 knots. Additionally, the team continued testing of the stability augmentation system, which was demonstrated during the second flight.
The XB-1 flight test program continues to progress while systematically expanding the flight envelope to confirm its performance and handling qualities through and beyond Mach 1.
The sequencing of test flights will increase through this next phase of testing with a total of approximately 10 flights before reaching supersonic speeds.
Just weeks after XB-1’s inaugural flight, Boom secured the first-ever Special Flight Authorization (SFA) to exceed Mach 1 from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
XB-1 test flights will continue to be conducted in the R-2508 Complex and supersonic operations will occur in the Black Mountain Supersonic Corridor and in a portion of the Bell X-1 Supersonic Corridor within the R-2515 airspace, which has been used extensively for research and military supersonic aeronautical operations.
XB-1 provides the foundation for the design and development of Overture, Boom’s supersonic airliner. XB-1 leverages state-of-the-art technologies to enable efficient supersonic flight including digitally-optimised aerodynamics, carbon fibre composites, advanced supersonic engine intakes, and an augmented reality vision system for take-off and landing visibility.
Two decades after Concorde’s retirement, the first flights of XB-1 mark the return of a civil supersonic aircraft to the skies and look set to pave the way for the revival of mainstream supersonic travel on Overture.
