BOOM!: Supersonic Travel Is Back

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The tires touched down at Bristol Airport in England. With that, the Concorde is retired in 2003, and Supersonic travel is over. The Concorde could complete a flight over the Atlantic Ocean in 3 hours, half the time it would take for a normal plane. The Concorde was a legendary jet but wasn’t an overall success with only 20 planes produced and only used by 4 airlines. But a new startup has arrived, and they want to bring back supersonic travel. Their name: Boom.

Boom Supersonic was founded in a Denver basement by Blake Scholl, who had fallen in love with aviation after seeing the Concorde in a museum. The company began designing their first plane in 2015, calling it the Overture. Though, the original sketches for the plane looked very different than those today. But before, they can realize their passenger jet. They began development on the XB-1, a fighter jet like plane that was meant to demonstrate if supersonic travel is possible.

The company gained recognition very quickly, with Japanese Airlines ordering up to 20 of their planes. That same year, in 2017, Boom secured over $33 Million in funding to begin construction their plane. Using this money, they begin constructing the XB-1 (see above) as a test aircraft. Boom would spend the next 6 years securing partnerships with aircraft part manufactures and creating blueprints for their planes. But during this time, both American and United Airlines would put down orders for the Overture jet. They also announced plans to build a large factory in North Carolina, and to produce their own engine called the Symphony. Finally on March 22nd 2024, the XB-1 takes flight for the first time from the Mojave Air and Space Port. This a great success proving that Boom can actually produce planes. Since then, the company has flown the plane 10 more times, preparing for their first supersonic flight in the upcoming months. They also completed their factory at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina. The company has also began testing on their Symphony engines. Boom is legit, with their Overture passenger airliner expected to roll out by the end of the decade. Meaning that todays generation can once again fly supersonic.

Overture Stats

The Overture is expected to fly at Mach 1.7 (1304 miles per hour), while being able to fly at 60,000 feet. To put that into perspective, the average cruising altitude of an Airbus A320 (the most common plane in the world) is around 39,000 feet. Boom predicts the plane can fly over 600 profitable routes and will be able to feet between 68-80 passengers. Not a lot for a plane that completes long-haul flights, but it will be able to complete them in half the time. Boom, has also redesigned the cockpit. In the original Concorde, the plane could bring down the nose of the aircraft, this was called the “Droop Snoop”. This was done so the pilots could see the ground on takeoffs and landings. In the Overture, Boom plans to use an Augmented Reality Vision System, which is basically VR. This system will include many sensors and warnings, further elevating pilot awareness and passenger safety.

In short, Boom is bringing a groundbreaking aircraft to the aviation space. And this is real. Soon, you could fly from London to New York in only a couple of hours, something unheard of since the retirement of the Concorde. So, are you ready to fly Boom!