Supersonic passenger travel hasn‘t been seen since the famed Concorde retired over 20 years ago. But one ambitious startup is out to change that. Boom Supersonic, founded in 2014, has raised over $270 million to develop a next-generation supersonic jet called Overture. With optimized aerodynamics and an advanced turbofan engine, they estimate Overture will fly up to 80 passengers from New York to Beijing in just 6 hours – less than half today‘s flight times.
As an aviation geek myself, I wanted to provide an in-depth profile looking at Boom‘s founders, investors, aircraft designs and the future of fast flight. Strap in as we dig into the Colorado company striving to make rapid air travel commonplace again!
Overview: Reviving Supersonic Travel
Commercial supersonic flight ended in 2003 with the Concorde‘s last voyage. Despite its awe-inspiring speed, thedarling of the 70s struggled with uneconomical operating costs and environment concerns leading to its grounding. Technological limits of the time prevented viable successors.
Blake Scholl along with Joe Wilding and Josh Krall founded Boom Supersonic in 2014 with hopes of overcoming these hurdles. Having raised $270 million so far, Boom has invested deeply in designing aircraft optimized for efficient supersonic flight.
"We‘re passionate about unlocking technologies and opportunities that will help people travel better for business, leisure, and adventure," said Founder & CEO Blake Scholl.
Their flagship Overture jet is targeted to fly 65-80 passengers at Mach 1.7 speeds over water – over 1000 mph! For perspective, standard commercial planes fly around 550 mph. This means connecting faraway destinations in half the time becomes possible.
Let‘s analyze Overture‘s unmatched speed and the progress Boom has made towards reviving supersonic air travel.
Overture Performance Targets
With aerospace engineering advances in materials, avionics and engine efficiencies, Boom believes supersonic craft can now achieve sufficient economy for airlines while meeting noise and emissions regulations.
Their Overture jet aims to cruise at Mach 1.7 – made possible through innovations like:
- Swept wings for stability/lift at high speeds
- Carbon composite materials that withstand heat/stress
- 4 specially designed turbofans optimized for efficiency/speed
*shapes
to delay drag-inducing shockwaves across the aircraft.
Notable routes Overture could disrupt include:
- New York to London: 3 hours 15 minutes (vs nearly 7 hours currently)
- San Francisco to Tokyo: 4 hours 40 minutes (vs 11+ hours)
- New York to Beijing (via Arctic): ~6 hours (vs 13+ hours)
Seating between 65-88 passengers, Overture would offer business and economy classes with ample personal space, WiFi connectivity and other premium services.
By optimizing for speed, safety, sustainability and passenger comfort in one supersonic package – Boom plans to make global travel massively more convenient.
Now let‘s analyze some key partnerships and milestones achieved on Overture‘s development.
Progress and Partnerships Behind Overture
Given the commercial failure of supersonic‘s last darling Concorde, how does Boom aim succeed where past attempts faltered?
The key is leveraging modern technologies, manufacturing techniques and aviation partnerships to contain program costs and airline operating expenses. Boom has secured relationships with key industry players across critical domains:
- Primary carbon composite aerostructures built via Northrup Grumman
- Custom engine cores designed in collaboration with Rolls Royce
- Avionics systems developed with guidance from Honeywell
- Flight controls & hydraulic systems engineered by Collins Aerospace
Strategic investors also back Boom‘s development efforts including American Airlines, Japan Airlines and the United States Air Force.
Overture‘s design has gone through over 50 iterations and 5 wind tunnel tests to arrive at latest configuration revealed in 2022. Boom plans to break ground on a manufacturing facility in 2023 as they progress Overture to first flight.
But before Overture itself flies passengers, Boom is set to conduct test flights next year with a scaled demonstrator jet called XB-1.
XB-1 Demonstrator Rolls Towards Flight Tests
You can‘t take an unproven design straight into commercial service, especially for supersonic aircraft. Hence Boom is prudently building XB-1 – a platform to refine systems and validate simulations at smaller scale.
- XB-1 is shaped distinctively like Overture targeting Mach 1.7
- Carbon composite construction matches Overture materials
- 3 General Electric J85-15 engines provide 12,000 lbs combined thrust
- Could be ready attempt first flight tests as early as 2023
Data from 100+ planned XB-1 test flights will directly help optimize Overture‘s final design for reliability and passenger safety. This demonstrator jet moves Boom towards revived supersonic travel years faster than going straight to final vehicle.
XB-1 recently completed an important series of ground tests including: lighting its engines / high speed taxi trials / and final pre-flight verifications. The team now awaits optimal weather to attempt a first flight in 2023 – marking a huge leap for commercial supersonic ambitions!
The Future is Supersonic
Boom Supersonic has viable designs, extensive flight test plans and key industry partners to develop history‘s next great supersonic airliner within this decade.
As an aviation enthusiast, I‘m thrilled to see Overture targeting incredible flight times like New York to Beijing in just 6 hours! Boom‘s progress shows that fast, sustainable supersonic travel can become a reality once more.
Despite past failures, Boom‘s commitment to efficiency aims to make supersonic flights economically viable and environmentally responsible thanks to advanced engines and streamlined manufacturing.
Major milestones remain as Overture progresses through manufacturing, assembly and flight testing over the next 5+ years. But Boom‘s demonstrator jet rolling towards first flight in 2023 is a huge leap forwards. I know I‘m excited to see XB-1 take to the skies and eventually Overture itself soon after!
What are your thoughts on the prospects for revived civilian supersonic flight? Does Boom have potential to realize faster air travel times this decade? Share your perspectives below!
