While the vision of economically viable supersonic commercial flight invested in Concorde was never fully realized, the airplane still stands as an icon to those who would try again to achieve that goal. Boom Supersonic, working to make that vision a reality, announced at the Paris Air Show this week that it is ready to launch the flight test phase of its Overture XB-1 sub-scale demonstrator. The first supersonic flight is scheduled to take place in 2020.
Boom Overture Moves Out Of Theory Into Reality
Key Takeaways:
- Boom Supersonic announced at the Paris Air Show that its Overture XB-1 sub-scale demonstrator is ready to begin flight testing, with the first supersonic flight scheduled for 2020.
- The XB-1 prototype, built with a carbon composite airframe, aims to operate on low-carbon jet fuel as part of Boom's goal for carbon-neutral operations.
- Through wind tunnel testing, Boom achieved significant efficiency gains, including up to 5% over Concorde's engine intakes, utilizing software-controlled compression ramps.
- After initial taxi tests near Denver, the XB-1 will move to the Mojave Desert for a multi-phase flight test program, starting with subsonic flight before transitioning to supersonic.
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