Boom flies test aircraft on path to Concorde successor

+VIDEO The company attempting to develop and build a successor to Concorde, Boom Supersonic, has flown its XB-1 tech demonstrator for the first time.

The XB-1 is cited as a key step towards the launch of Boom’s supersonic airliner, called Overture. The test aircraft includes technologies to enable efficient supersonic flight including carbon fibre composites, advanced avionics, digitally-optimised aerodynamics, and an advanced supersonic propulsion system.

“Today, XB-1 took flight in the same hallowed airspace where the Bell X-1 first broke the sound barrier in 1947,” said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic.

“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.”

XB-1 was flown by Chief Test Pilot Bill ‘Doc’ Shoemaker from the Mojave Air & Space Port. Boom says XB-1 met all of its test objectives, including safely and successfully achieving an altitude of 7,120 feet and speeds up to 238 knots (273 mph).

The flight test team also performed an initial assessment of the aircraft’s handling qualities, including airspeed checks with the T-38 chase aircraft, and assessing the aircraft’s stability in the landing attitude (at a high angle of attack).

XB-1 is 62.6 feet long with a wingspan of 21 feet and is powered by three GE J85-15 engines with a combined max thrust of 12,300 pounds of force.

Captain Mike Bannister, former Chief Concorde Pilot for British Airways, added, “I’ve been waiting over 20 years for an environmentally friendly successor to Concorde and XB-1’s first flight is a major landmark towards my dreams being realised. When I last flew Concorde in 2003 I knew that this day would come. The first flight of the XB-1 supersonic demonstrator is a significant achievement toward making sustainable supersonic flight a reality, aboard Overture.”

The technologies on test include:

• Augmented reality vision system: Two nose-mounted cameras, digitally augmented with attitude and flight path indications, feed a high resolution pilot display enabling excellent runway visibility. This system enables improved aerodynamic efficiency without the weight and complexity of a movable nose.
• Digitally-optimised aerodynamics: Engineers used computational fluid dynamics simulations for an optimised design that combines safe and stable operation at takeoff and landing with efficiency at supersonic speeds.
• Carbon fibre composites: XB-1 is almost entirely made from carbon fiber composite materials, enabling a sophisticated aerodynamic design in a strong, lightweight structure.
• Supersonic intakes: XB-1’s engine intakes slow supersonic air to subsonic speeds, efficiently converting kinetic energy into pressure energy, allowing conventional jet engines to power XB-1 from takeoff through supersonic flight.

Boom Supersonic says it has a growing global network of Tier 1 suppliers and an order book including 130 orders and pre-orders from American Airlines, United Airlines and Japan Airlines.

Overture will carry 64-80 passengers at Mach 1.7, about twice the speed of today’s subsonic airliners. Overture is designed to run on up to 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Boom Supersonic