UP AND AWAY!
‘Son of Concorde’ jet completes final supersonic test flight as work begins on the world’s fastest new airliner
Bosses want the airliner to ready for passengers by the end of 2029
SPEEDY flights that blast off faster than the speed of sound look set to return to skies as a US company reveals huge progress on a new Concorde-like service.
Boom's XB-1 jet, dubbed the "Son of Concorde" recently completed its first supersonic flight paving the way for a super fast new airliner.
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The firm has now completed its second supersonic test flight, which is also its final one for the XB-1.
It means work can now accelerate a brand new Overture supersonic airliner, capable of travelling up to 50 per cent faster over land and two times faster over water.
One of the major hurdles Boom has been trying to overcome with supersonic is the loud sonic boom, an issue that severely limited Concorde and contributed towards its demise.
Concorde - which ceased flying in 2003 - made a thunderous noise when flying faster than Mach 1.
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This meant it was limited to flying faster than the speed of sound over sea with only two routes, to New York and to New York.
Supersonic aircraft were banned in the UK more than 20 years ago, because they were deemed too noisy.
The US banned them even earlier, in 1973, because the sonic booms were so loud they made people's windows rattle.
But Boom has revealed a new Boomless Cruise technology which it claims can carry out supersonic flights with no audible sonic boom sound, enabling speedy flights over land.
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"XB-1 broke the sound barrier three times during its first supersonic flight—without an audible boom,” explained Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic.
"This confirms what we’ve long believed: supersonic travel can be affordable, sustainable, and friendly to those onboard and on the ground.
I'm a Boom supersonic test pilot - my day job is testing a new generation of Concordes
"With this success, we’re bringing Boomless Cruise to Overture, unlocking faster travel on even more routes."
Boomless Cruise will allow Overture to fly at speeds up to Mach 1.3 without an audible boom, reducing US coast-to-coast flight times by up to 90 minutes, the firm said.
International routes with overland segments can also benefit from increased speeds.
But in order to comply with today’s regulations, Boom planned to operate Overture at Mach 0.94 over land - around 20 per cent faster than today’s subsonic jets - only breaking the sound barrier over water, where it would speed up to Mach 1.7, or twice as fast.
Boom says the data collected from XB-1’s supersonic flight establishes the possibility of Overture traveling up to 50 per cent faster than today’s jets over land without an audible boom.
American Airlines, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines passengers could be among the first to fly on Overture.
130 orders and pre-orders have already been placed, which make up the first five years of production.
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XB-1 is now returning to its birthplace in Denver, Colorado while the firm focuses efforts on scaling learnings and technology to build Overture.
Bosses are aiming for the airliner to ready for passengers by the end of 2029.
Why did the Concorde fail?
CONCORDE was the supersonic passenger jet considered the ultimate luxury in air travel.
Air France and British Airways announced they would be retiring their fleet of Concorde planes on April 10, 2003.
The plane had its first commercial flight on January 21, 1976, so was retired after 27 years of service and 50,000 flights.
Several reasons led to the decision to retire Concorde.
Air France and British Airways cited low passenger numbers and high maintenance costs.
By the early noughties, the planes were outdated and expensive to run, despite being incredibly advanced when they were first introduced almost three decades previously.
The 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 majorly impacted passenger numbers, as people opted not to fly.
Passenger numbers also fell after an Air France Concorde crashed just minutes after taking off from Paris in July 2000.
The disaster killed all 109 people on board and four others on the ground.
The plane ran over a small piece of metal on the runway, which burst a tyre and caused an engine to ignite.
It was also the only aircraft in the British Airways fleet that required a flight engineer.
Image credit: Getty
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