Boom Supersonic
Across the Atlantic in less than four hours? That could be possible with a new supersonic aircraft that has now been ordered by the world’s largest airline.
With the last Concorde flight in 2003, the age of supersonic flight in civil aviation seemed to be over. The almost unanimous consensus was that the technology was too expensive, too unsafe and far too harmful to the environment. Since then there have been repeated attempts to develop new supersonic aircraft, but they never left the early planning phase.
That seems to be changing now. Because with American Airlines, the largest airline in the world has announced the purchase of initially up to 20 supersonic aircraft, although there is not even a prototype of these.
It is the Overture aircraft being developed by US startup Boom Supersonic. The domestic competitor United had already secured 15 Overture jets last year. The orders from the two well-known airlines give reason to assume that this is not an air number.
Boom Supersonic
Quieter than the Concore
The Overture jets are said to be able to fly 8,000 km at a top speed of Mach 1.7 (2,100 km/h). A flight from London to New York with an Overture would then take just under three hours and 30 minutes, one from Los Angeles to Sydney eight hours, almost half of today’s flight time in each case. Unlike the Concorde, which was able to reach Mach 2.2, the Overture jets do not have an afterburner on board, but are also significantly quieter as a result.
The 60-meter-long Overture will have space for 65 to 80 passengers. The aircraft is to be powered by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), i.e. fuel that was obtained neither from fossil fuels nor from plants suitable for food purposes. So far, however, SAF has only been used in the per thousand range in commercial aviation.
Mini prototype is scheduled to launch this year
Boom Supersonic has been working on the supersonic jet since 2014, which previously only existed as computer graphics. The Overture is to be built in a factory in the US state of North Carolina. The first flight is currently planned for 2025, with the first commercial use scheduled for 2029.
Boom Supersonic
However, Boom has already built an experimental aircraft, the XB-1, which is intended to demonstrate the supersonic technology developed by the company on a smaller scale. The first flight of the XB-1 is scheduled to take place this year.