After decades of efforts, the dream of traveling on supersonic planes is about to come true. The experimental aircraft of the American company Boom Supersonic was presented on the occasion of the Farnborough International Air Show.
The XB1 has been in the works since 2014 and the company behind it is keen to introduce the first commercial supersonic aircraft in more than 2 decades. Boom Supersonic founder and chief executive Blake Scholl spoke about his plans at the airshow.
He said that it has been two decades since Boeing or Airbus introduced a new aircraft and it seems that we are going backwards instead of moving forward. He said that the present era is of speed and that too of supersonic speed.
He further said that the second test flight of the XB1 aircraft will take place in the next few days and this aircraft will also break the sound barrier in the same year. In simple words, by the end of this year, this aircraft will fly at the speed of sound (760 miles per hour).
So far, two supersonic aircraft have been developed worldwide over the past decade, the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 and the British/French Concorde, which last flew in October 2003. Since then, supersonic aircraft have been developed, but are not yet commercially available.
In the future, a plane developed by Boom Supersonic will be able to fly from London to New York in just 3 and a half hours, traveling at a speed of more than 1300 miles per hour. Blake Scholl said that 97 percent of passengers are looking forward to supersonic flights and 87 percent are willing to change their preferred airline for it.
During the airshow, the company also showcased the aircraft’s flight deck for the first time, which features hundreds of physical controls as well as 4 large touch displays. The XB1 is made of carbon fiber and will also be assisted by Augmented Reality technology for flight.
The aircraft has a long nose with 2 cameras mounted on it to help with flight path and other tasks. This aircraft is capable of flying on 100% environmentally friendly fuel, but this fuel is not produced in large quantities.
The company has set a target for commercial flights by the end of this decade. Although the aircraft is not fully ready yet, the company has already received 130 orders.
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