After a decade of development, Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator jet took to the air today for the first in a series of test flights that will eventually lead beyond the sound barrier.
The flight at California’s Mojave Air and Space Port achieved a top altitude of 7,120 feet and a top speed of 238 knots (273 mph), Boom said in a news release. That’s nowhere near the speed of sound, but going supersonic wasn’t the goal. Instead, the aim was to start gathering data on the XB-1’s performance from takeoff to landing.
“Today, XB-1 took flight in the same hallowed airspace where the Bell X-1 first broke the sound barrier in 1947,” said Boom’s CEO and founder, Blake Scholl. “I’ve been looking forward to this flight since founding Boom in 2014, and it marks the most significant milestone yet on our path to bring supersonic travel to passengers worldwide.”
Bill “Doc” Shoemaker, Boom’s chief test pilot, guided the XB-1 through today’s first flight. “Everyone on the XB-1 team should be incredibly proud of this achievement,” he said. “It has been a privilege to share this journey with so many dedicated and talented professionals. The experience we have gained in reaching this milestone will be invaluable to Boom’s revival of supersonic travel.”
Among the innovations developed for the single-seat XB-1 are an augmented-reality vision system that provides the pilot with views from nose-mounted cameras, and intakes that will allow the XB-1 to go from takeoff to supersonic speeds using conventional jet engines.
Colorado-based Boom will carry over those features to Overture, which is being designed to carry 64 to 80 passengers at Mach 1.7, about twice the speed of today’s subsonic airliners. Overture will be 170 feet long (vs. 62.6 feet for the XB-1), with a wingspan of 59 feet (vs. 21 feet for the XB-1).
Depending on how the test program goes, Boom could expand the XB-1’s flight envelope to get to supersonic flight later this year. The company’s Overture Superfactory is taking shape in North Carolina, and the first Overture aircraft could roll out for testing by as early as 2026. If all goes according to plan, Overture could complete certification and begin taking on passengers in the 2030 time frame.
To a large extent, that schedule depends on how the Federal Aviation Administration paves the way for the return of supersonic passenger planes, more than two decades after the last Concorde was retired. Later this year, NASA and Lockheed Martin are due to start testing methods for quieting the sonic booms associated with supersonic flight, using an experimental supersonic jet known as the X-59.
In anticipation of FAA certification, Boom says it has taken 130 Overture orders and pre-orders from American Airlines, United Airlines and Japan Airlines.
