Boom Prepares to Build Supersonic Prototype

Supersonic aircraft developer Boom Supersonic announced it has raised enough money to complete the development and construction of a supersonic demonstrator and conduct its initial flight testing, which will include sonic boom testing. A recent round of funding, totaling $33 million, came from several investment companies including Caffeinated Capital, RRE Ventures, 8VC and Y Combinator’s Continuity Fund.

“When I first met with Boom, I was fascinated by their plans to revive supersonic flight, making the world more accessible for millions of people,” said Y Combinator’s president Sam Altman. “Since then, Boom has formed partnerships with aviation industry leading manufacturers and made rapid progress in the development of the demonstrator – I am excited to be part of the coming supersonic renaissance.”

Boom’s planned airliner is expected to cruise at Mach 2.2. If successful, the airplane will be the fastest civil airplane ever produced. The Boom team has conducted wind tunnel tests at the Walter H. Beech Wind Tunnel facility at Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research in Kansas.

Boom has raised a total of $41 million so far. Blake Scholl, the CEO and founder of Boom, expects the first flight on the first XB-1 demonstrator to take place in about a year. XB-1 will be a half-scale prototype of the supersonic airliner.