The inaugural flight of XB-1 is said to mark a major milestone toward the return of supersonic travel. (Image courtesy Boom Supersonic/PR Newswire)
With XB-1’s successful first flight in the rearview, Boom Supersonic is laying the foundation for what promises to be a seriously fast supersonic airliner, Overture.
MOJAVE, Calif. and DENVER—In March, aircraft developer Boom Supersonic reported the successful flight of what the company dubbed “the world’s first independently developed supersonic jet,” the XB-1, at the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave.
The first flight of Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 “marks the return of a civil supersonic aircraft to the skies and paves the way for the revival of mainstream supersonic travel,” Boom Supersonic said in a company release. The flight comes two decades after the retirement of the supersonic passenger jet Concorde.
Boom Supersonic is also developing another aircraft, Overture, with the intent of making it the world’s fastest airliner. Optimized for speed, safety, and sustainability, Overture is projected to fly at twice the speed of today’s airliners and is optimized to run on up to 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the company said in the release.
XB-1 is Boom’s technology demonstrator aircraft. Like Overture, XB-1 leverages several state-of-the-art technologies to enable efficient supersonic flight. They include carbon fiber composites, advanced avionics, digitally-optimized 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, in the release. “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 Boom Chief Test Pilot Bill “Doc” Shoemaker. Test Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg flew the T-38 chase aircraft, which monitored the flight.
XB-1 took off from the Mojave Air & Space Port and flew in the same airspace that hosted many historic first flights, including the flights of the Bell X-1, the North American X-15, and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. The XB-1 is reported to have 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).
“Everyone on the XB-1 team should be incredibly proud of this achievement,” said Shoemaker. “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.”
The XB-1 program provides the foundation for the design and development of Overture, while establishing a safety-first culture in engineering and manufacturing. In doing so, XB-1 validates some key technologies and innovations, the company said.
One is its 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 is said to enable improved aerodynamic efficiency without the weight and complexity of a movable nose.
Another key innovation is XB-1’s digitally-optimized aerodynamics. Engineers used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to explore “thousands of designs” for XB-1, according to the release. The result is an optimized design that is said to combine safe and stable operation at takeoff and landing with efficiency at supersonic speeds.
Carbon fiber composites are also key. The XB-1 is almost entirely made from carbon fiber composite materials, enabling it to realize a sophisticated aerodynamic design in a strong, lightweight structure, the company said.
Supersonic intakes were also among the critical parts validated by XB-1. The XB-1’s engine intakes slow supersonic air to subsonic speeds, efficiently converting kinetic energy into pressure energy and allowing conventional jet engines to power XB-1 from takeoff through supersonic flight, according to Boom Supersonic.
The inaugural flight of the XB-1 demonstrator took place as Overture continued its advance toward production. With a growing global network of Tier 1 suppliers, Overture is reported to have an order book of 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, the company said.
Boom Supersonic said it is working with Northrop Grumman for government and defense applications of Overture. Suppliers and partners collaborating with Boom on the Overture program are reported to include Aernnova, Aciturri, Collins Aerospace, Eaton, Honeywell, Latecoere, Leonardo, Safran Landing Systems, and the United States Air Force.
The company said Overture will be powered by the Symphony™ propulsion system. Symphony is a Boom-developed engine with world-class suppliers that are reported to include Florida Turbine Technologies (FTT), a business unit of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.; GE Additive; and StandardAero.