Pilot's Post - Boom-New York to London in 3 hrs 15 min

"Over long distances people don't think in miles and kilometres. They think in hours. Crossing the U.S. takes about five. Going from New York to Dubai takes about fourteen. If we can fly twice as fast, the world becomes twice as small, turning far off lands into familiar neighbours. Speed isn't about going really fast. It's about closeness. It's about making faraway places feel like they're right around the corner." Blake Scholl CEO of Boom Technology.

Boom's 55-75 Mach 2.2 Overture

Over the last seventy years we have seen measurable progress in almost every area of human achievement including flying. However, somehow flights today take the same amount of time they took in the 1950s. The Overture, a Mach 2.2 fifty-five passenger supersonic transport aircraft with a range of 4,500 nmi (8,300 km} currently being built by Boom Technology, an American start-up, is going to change that.

"Baby Boom" the unveiling of the XB-1 demonstrator

Boom might not be a household name but the company's credentials are a recipe for success. Members of the Boom team, of which 30 are licensed pilots, have contributed to the design and development of over 130 air and spacecraft while 24 have worked on space programs. Boom helped launch Airbus Americas Engineering, owns the structural design dynamics of a Mach 3 suborbital vehicle, designed propulsion aerodynamics for a hypersonic military vehicle, developed the autopilot control law for the Boeing 787, built the world's first and largest-scale automated advertising system and directed engineering of the SpaceX Falcon 9's second stage.

Second wind tunnel test 2017

Founded in 2014 USA based Boom raised $51 million of venture capital in 2017 and a further $100 million by January 2019. This funding was sufficient to commence the program to build the XB-1 "Baby Boom" demonstrator. The XB-1 is a one-third-scale supersonic demonstrator powered by three 4,300 lbf (19 kN) General Electric CJ610s, designed to maintain Mach 2.2, with over 1,000 nmi (1,900 km) of range.

2019, cockpit and nose landing gear bonded into fuselage

XB-1 "Baby Boom" cockpit

The Overture, of composite construction and history's fastest commercial airliner that Boom plans to introduce in 2025 will be a Mach 2.2 (1,300 kn; 2,300 km/h), 55-75 passenger supersonic transport with a 4,500 nmi (8,300 km) range. Powered by three dry 15,000-20,000 lbf (67-89 kN) turbofans, Overture will have a cruising altitude of 60,000 feet (18,300 meters).

Assembly

Overture is designed with the latest noise-reducing technologies, ensuring no increase to existing noise contours. The overall impact of Overture on airport communities will be similar to any of the current crop of conventional long-haul aircraft that it is intended to replace. It will only fly at supersonic speeds over the ocean, eliminating community exposure to sonic booms.

Japan Airlines and the Virgin Group, who between them have 30 Overture's on pre-order, will be the first to take into service history's first independently-developed supersonic jet. Boom has by December 2017 received a further 46 commitments. Overture is expected to sell for $200 million, (plus options and interior). Fares are expected to be comparable to today's long-haul business-class fares.

Boom calculated that with 500 viable routes, there could be a market for 1,000 supersonic airliners with business class fares by the time Overture rolls out of its factory doors.

Aviation Economy
Manufacturers That Changed History

Boom-New York to London in 3 hrs 15 min

By Willie Bodenstein