An aircraft created by Boom Supersonic has made aviation history by becoming the first privately funded jet to surpass the sound barrier. During a test flight conducted recently, the XB-1 jet reached Mach 1.05 at approximately 35,000 feet. This milestone took place in the Mojave Desert of California, a location notably recognized as the site where Charles “Chuck” Yeager first broke the sound barrier back in 1947.
The significance of Boom Supersonic’s achievement lies in its potential to rejuvenate commercial supersonic travel, which has been inactive since the Concorde was retired over twenty years ago. Boom Supersonic has established agreements with multiple airlines to purchase their upcoming commercial jets once they are ready for operation. Various companies are currently engaged in the development of new supersonic aircraft that are expected to be more fuel-efficient and produce fewer emissions that contribute to climate change in comparison to the Concorde. The founder and CEO of Boom, Blake Scholl, expressed that this flight indicates that the technology for passenger supersonic travel is ready for implementation.
The aircraft in question was constructed using lightweight carbon fiber and features an augmented reality vision system designed to assist with landings, accommodating its distinctive long nose. Headquartered in Denver, Boom intends to leverage this technology to produce its Overture commercial airliner, projected to carry up to 80 passengers while exceeding the speed of sound. Plans are in place for the manufacturing of these jets in North Carolina, with an engine that is expected to generate 35,000 pounds of thrust, designed to operate on sustainable aviation fuel.
Looking ahead, both American Airlines and United Airlines have expressed intentions to purchase jets from Boom Supersonic. The company announced last year that it has received orders for a total of 130 aircraft, including confirmed orders and those on a pre-order basis. However, these commercial flights may be restricted to over-ocean routes, or the jets may need to reduce speed when flying over land to mitigate the impact of sonic booms, which can cause disturbances to structures on the ground. NASA is also investigating the development of an aircraft that is capable of producing a softer sonic boom, while Boeing is in the process of creating a prototype for supersonic commercial transport.
Any emerging service in this domain will likely confront similar challenges faced by the Concorde, which primarily operated flights over the Atlantic and was prohibited from numerous overland routes due to the disruptive sonic booms produced during flight.
The Concorde, the sole supersonic commercial airliner to take to the skies, was grounded in 2003 after embarking on its inaugural flight in 1969. It was once hailed as a groundbreaking technological achievement and a point of national pride for both Britain and France, whose aerospace sectors collaborated on its production. The Concorde set the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing by a passenger plane, achieving a time of 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds from Heathrow Airport in London to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
However, the Concorde never achieved widespread popularity due to its economic challenges and the sonic booms that led to restrictions on many land routes. Only 20 units of the aircraft were manufactured, with 14 flying passengers at any point. The tragic crash of an Air France Concorde in July 2000, which resulted in the deaths of all 109 individuals onboard and four others on the ground, contributed to the plane’s retirement. Investigators found that the aircraft had struck a metal strip on the runway, damaging a tire that subsequently collided with the underside of one wing, causing a fuel tank to rupture.
