It is the demonstrator of a larger aircraft, the Boom Overture

The first supersonic flight of the Boom XB-1, an aircraft that could revolutionize civil aviation

Esp 1·29·2025 · 21:33 0

Aviation experienced a time of great milestones in the first half of the 20th century, with very rapid advances in just a few years.

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The Wright brothers' first flight took place in 1903, and the First World War (1914-1918) saw the birth of fighter aircraft, which developed during the interwar period, taking a great leap forward in the Second World War (1939-1945) with the first jet aircraft, and breaking the sound barrier with the Bell X-1 in 1946.

The second half of the 20th century saw a new milestone: the first flights of two supersonic passenger aircraft, the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 (1968) and the Franco-British Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde (1969). However, the first ceased to operate in 1999 and the second in 2003. We have now gone two decades without supersonic commercial aircraft, a paradox in an era of great technological advances.

An American company, Boom Technology, aims to change that. In 2016, it began developing a new aircraft that would serve as a demonstrator for a new supersonic commercial airliner. The demonstrator is called the Boom XB-1 and made its first flight on March 22, 2024, bearing the US civil registration N990XB.

The XB-1 is a jet aircraft equipped with three General Electric CJ610-15 turbojets, with one of them located at the tail and the other two on the sides, slightly further forward. The aircraft measures 21 metres long and has a wingspan of 5.2 metres, its maximum take-off weight is 6,123 kg and it is piloted by a single person. Boom aims for this aircraft to reach a speed of Mach 2.2 (2716 km/h).

The XB-1 made history on Tuesday, January 28, by becoming the first American-made supersonic civilian aircraft. The takeoff took place from the Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV) in California.

The man flying the plane was Tristan "Geppetto" Brandenburg, a former U.S. Navy naval aviator and Boom’s chief test pilot. The aircraft reached speeds of Mach 1,122 (1,385 km/h). On this flight, the XB-1 was accompanied by a Dassault Mirage F1B fighter aircraft from ATAC (N604AX) and a Northrop T-38 Talon trainer aircraft from the National Test Pilot School in Mojave (N638TC). You can watch the full video of this flight here. It's two hours long, but Fly By Wire Aviation published a five-minute recap of the highlights yesterday:

The XB-1 is a demonstrator for the future Boom Overture, which aims to be the first supersonic passenger aircraft made in the United States and the first operational in the world after the retirement of the Concorde. The aircraft will measure 61 metres in length (a size very similar to that of the famous Franco-British supersonic aircraft).

Boom envisions the Overture being able to cruise at Mach 1.7 (2,099 km/h), with a range of 7,867 kilometers and a flight altitude of 60,000 feet (18,288 meters). It will be able to carry between 64 and 80 passengers, and more than 600 routes are already planned where the aircraft would be profitable.

So far, Boom has already secured 130 orders and pre-orders for the Overture from several airlines, which demonstrates a great interest in this aircraft. Flights are expected to begin in 2029. With its first supersonic flight yesterday, the XB-1 has taken a first step towards revolutionizing civil aviation in the coming years.

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