![]()
Boom Supersonic celebrated the first successful flight of the XB-1, the world's first independently developed supersonic jet. The announcement on March 22 revealed that the jet took its first flight at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California. Like the world's fastest airliner Boom is building, the Overture, the XB-1 uses leading technologies to enable efficient supersonic flight, including carbon fiber composites, advanced avionics, digitally-optimized aerodynamics and an advanced supersonic propulsion system.
"Today, XB-1 took flight in the same hallowed airspace where the Bell X-1 first broke the sound barrier in 1947," Boom Supersonic founder and CEO Black Scholl said. "I've been looking forward to this flight since founding Boom in 2014, and it marks the most significant milestone yet on our path to bring supersonic travel to passengers worldwide."
The XB-1 was flown by Boom Chief Test Pilot Bill "Doc" Shoemaker and test pilot Tristan "Geppetto" Brandenburg, who flew the T-38 chase aircraft to monitor the flight. The supersonic jet took off from the Mojave Air andamp; Space Port, flying in the same airspace that has been the host of numerous historical first flights in the past, including the flights of the Bell X-1, North American X015 and Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. The XB-1 has met all of its test objectives including safely reaching an altitude of 7,120 feet and speeds of up to 238 knots.
"Everyone on the XB-1 team should be incredibly proud of this achievement," Shoemaker said. "It has been a privilege to share this journey with so many dedicated and talented professionals. The experience we have gained in reaching this milestone will be invaluable to Boom's revival of supersonic travel."
Just over 20 years after Concorde's retirement, the XB-1 flight indicates the return of civil supersonic aircraft to the sky and prepares for the eventual revival of mainstream supersonic travel. The XB-1 program is setting the foundation for the design and development of the Overture, establishing a safety-first culture in engineering and manufacturing.
The XB-1 will validate key technologies and innovations including:
Augmented reality vision system: Two nose-mounted cameras are digitally augmented with attitude and flight path indications, feeding a high-resolution pilot display to enable improved runway visibility. The system will enable improved aerodynamic efficiency without the weight and complexity of a movable nose.
Digitally-optimized aerodynamics: The engineers have used computational fluid dynamics simulations to explore thousands of designs for the XB-1. This results in an optimized design to combine safe and stable operations at takeoff and landing with efficiency at supersonic speeds.
Carbon fiber composites: The XB-1 is almost entirely made from carbon fiber composite materials, which allows the jet to realize a sophisticated aerodynamic design in a strong and lightweight structure.
Supersonic intakes: The jet's engine intakes slow supersonic air to supersonic speeds and efficiently convert the kinetic energy into pressure energy to allow conventional jet engines to power XB-1 from takeoff through supersonic flight.RELATED STORY:Boom Supersonic preparing for supersonic flight with XB-1 jet
The first flight took place as the Overture nears production. There is a growing network of global Tier 1 suppliers and an order book with 130 orders and pre-orders from American Airlines, United Airlines and Japan Airlines. The Overture will carry 64-80 passengers at Mach 1.7, roughly twice the speed of current subsonic airliners. This plane is being optimized for speed, safety and sustainability, designed to run on 100 percent SAF.