On October 7, 2024, Boom's XB-1 supersonic jet made its fifth test flight at Mojave Air Harbor, setting some new records during the test flight. The XB-1 is a one-third of the scale platform that Boom uses as the basis for its final Overture aircraft, with the aim of resuming commercial supersonic passenger flights.
More than 20 years have passed since the Concorde's last flight. The Concorde achieved supersonic flight in 1969, reaching speeds of Mach 2 (about 1354 mph/2180 km/h). While the Concorde can get passengers from New York to London in under three hours (compared to the seven to eight hours of the average journey), it has two main problems: First, the Concorde is very fuel-intensive. At this rate, it consumes 5,638 gallons (25,629 liters) of fuel per hour. Secondly, it is very noisy. When it flies over land, a sonic boom is created, and as a result, supersonic flight over residential areas is restricted. Its airfares are also very expensive, costing $12,000 for a luxury transatlantic round-trip ticket.
The Concorde – a symbol in the history of commercial travel and aviation waved goodbye on October 24, 2003, making commercial supersonic travel history.
Colorado-based Boom Supersonic wants to change that.
XB-1 for its second flight after successfully raising the landing gear
In March of this year, the world's first privately developed supersonic jet made its maiden flight under the control of pilot Bill "Doc" Shoemaker. The flight took place in airspace that might be considered sacred, as the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, is also where the Bell X-1 first broke the sound barrier in 1947.
On October 7, 2024, during the fifth flight test, Chief Test Pilot Tristan "Geppetto" Brandenburg set a record for the XB-85 equipped with a General Electric J1-1 turbojet engine, which flew at an altitude of 17,800 feet (5,425 meters) and a speed of Mach 0.69 (428 nautical miles/492 miles/ 791 km/h, true airspeed), setting the highest and fastest speed to date.
The XB-1 is very beautiful from behind
Boom tested its flutter excitation system (FES) at Mach 0.6...... This must have been unsettling for the test pilots. FES is a system that deliberately induces vibrations in an aircraft's fuselage to help engineers identify potential structural problems, especially when flying at high speeds. The purpose of this is to avoid structural problems (which can lead to flapping wings) being exposed during flight.
The Boom company has been slowly increasing the speed and altitude of the XB-1, rather than taking a leap into the sky, as an actual test pilot would expect. The company expects the XB-1 to make five more flights before preparing to break the sound barrier.
XB-85 fuselage in front of the installation of the General Electric J15-1 turbojet engine
The XB-1 is a testbed for the Boom Overture, a supersonic commercial airliner capable of carrying 64 to 80 passengers at Mach 1.7 (about 1,300 miles / 2,200 km/h). It will have a range of 4250 nautical miles (4891 miles / 7869 km), which means it can fly from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia, without stopping to refuel.
While the Overture primarily flies above the water, it has been designed with noise reduction in mind to minimize sonic booms and comply with the latest environmental standards. Its in-house designed turbojet engine, called Symphony, can operate at both high and low speeds and will run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Boom Overture 未来商业超音速飞行概念图
The lower speed meant that the Overture could operate over land without a sonic boom and could land on the runways used by typical commercial aircraft such as the Boeing 737 or Airbus A380 without the nearly 10,000 feet (3,048 m) long take-off and landing strip required for the Concorde.
The Boom Supersonic will begin manufacturing the Overture in 2025, conduct test flights in 2027, and commercialize it in 2029 if all goes according to plan. Companies such as United Airlines of United States are already interested in the aircraft.