A zero-carbon flight from London to New York in just 3.5 hours might sound too good to be true. But that could become a reality in just four years.
Boom Supersonic’s Overture, dubbed ‘Son of Concorde’, will be the fastest passenger plane in the world. The firm says a scaled-down prototype of Overture, called the XB-1 Baby Boom, has completed key milestones during testing as it makes its way to its maiden flight.
If the XB-1 Baby Boom passes the tests, Overture will be introduced in 2026, with the plane’s first flight in 2027 and commercial passenger flights in 2029.
Earlier this year, the XB-1 Baby Boom was moved from the company’s hangar in Colorado Centennial to the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California to continue flight preparations. The company announced that it has just completed the ‘taxi test’, an aircraft development step that shows whether the aircraft can take off and land quickly from the runway.
At 20 meters long, the XB-1 Baby Boom is about one-third the size of the Overture, which will carry 80-90 passengers for business or leisure.
Currently under development, Overture will be built to run on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is derived from sustainable and renewable sources, rather than fossil fuels.
Most importantly, it will have a quieter ‘supersonic boom’ than the original Concorde, which is known for its annoying noise. A sonic boom occurs when shock waves from an object moving faster than the speed of sound through the air combine before reaching the ground.
The Overture is driven by four powerful engines mounted on the wings, meaning less thrust is required for each. According to Boom Supersonic, this reduces overall noise levels. However, Overture will cruise at 2,092 km, which is less than the Concorde’s 2,500 km maximum cruise speed.
Alongside the successful taxi tests, the XB-1 Baby Boom received an ‘experimental airworthiness certificate’ awarded to more unusual flying machines so that the manufacturer could conduct flight tests. In the statement made by Boom Supersonic, it was stated that the certificate was issued after a detailed aircraft inspection by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
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