Supersonic Boom (Boom) presented plans for the future supersonic passenger plane

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At the Paris Air Show 2019, Boom Supersonic (Boom) presented plans for the future supersonic passenger plane. The XB-1 aircraft, a prototype aircraft with 2 seats, will be officially launched in December 2019.

But let's get back to the supersonic civil aircraft. In the aeronautical industry there were 2 supersonic aircraft, which were targeted for civilian flights. One plane was famous supersonic Concorde, which flew to 2003. The second was Tupolev TU-144, who did not enjoy too much success or too many commercial flights.

The XB-1 aircraft will be unveiled in December 2019

We have often wondered why supersonic passenger planes have not appeared. It's like the question: "Why didn't man travel to the moon after the great achievement in 1969?". The answer would seem to be economic in nature. It has been shown that it is possible, the costs, problems and benefits were seen, and the conclusion was "not worth it". But is it so?

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Due to commercial and operational considerations, major aircraft manufacturers have given up the idea of ​​building supersonic commercial aircraft.

Overture is the future supersonic plane

Researchers from Boom Supersonic have not abandoned the idea of ​​building a supersonic passenger plane. At the Paris Air Show they announced that their project is progressing well, but the focus is on safety, not on time. Thus, the XB-1 aircraft will be launched towards the end of the year 2019, with 6 months late. XB-1 is a test aircraft, which only has 2 seats, but is very useful in developing the Overture program.

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Overture wants to be a supersonic plane, which will be able to carry between 55 and 75 passengers, all-business. The crew will consist of 4 flight attendants and 2 pilots. Japan Airlines has invested $ 10 million in Boom and pre-ordered 20 Overture aircraft. If all goes according to plan, the first passengers will be able to travel with Overture somewhere in 2025 - 2027. The test fleet will number 6 aircraft, and the first flight should be operated in 2020. In this regard we are skeptical and do not really think that a Overture plane will rise from the ground in the next 2 years.

But until Overture, the XB-1 will play an important role. By developing and testing the XB-1, Boom researchers will understand how Overture should be.

XB-1 will play an important role in the development of Overture

In the last 12 months, Boom has gone through the critical engineering and construction stages, and below are some of the development stages:
• Validation of the XB-1 aerodynamic design
• Testing the functionality of the engine
• Engine testing on fuel
• Aerodynamic tunnel testing for supersonic speeds
• Testing the flight telemetry system
• All systems checked to achieve safety objectives
• Completion of the front fuselage and wings

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From what was stated by Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom, we can hope that in 10 years we will fly supersonically at speeds of 2.2 Mach. This means that we will be able to travel Madrid - Bostin in just 3.3 hours, New - York - London in just 3.15 hours or San Francisco - Tokyo in just 5.5 hours. Or like being able to fly Sydney - Los Angeles in just 6:45 hours, currently the distance is covered in about 15 hours.

The future sounds good!

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