GUILFORD COUNTY — The company that plans to build a new generation of supersonic airliners at Piedmont Triad International Airport released on Tuesday a number of updates on its progress, including that it is “reinventing the cockpit,” incorporating virtual reality and large touchscreens.
Boom Supersonic also announced progress developing the airliners’ engine, called Symphony, and a new deal with StandardAero to assemble up to 330 engines a year in San Antonio, Texas. This is an expansion beyond the role of maintenance operations that had been announced for StandardAero in late 2022.
Boom made the announcements at the Farnborough International Air Show in England, one of the venues that the company has used for its milestone announcements about Overture, the name of the airliner it is developing.
The new cockpit will incorporate Honeywell avionics technology that has been used elsewhere and 17-inch touchscreens that will replace the hundreds of breakers and buttons found in traditional cockpits, the company said in a press release.
“Every airplane function is accessible through software while physical controls — such as stick, throttle, and landing gear — are offered for safety-critical functions,” it said.
The cockpit software also will be able to receive regular “over-the-air” upgrades, the release said.
Boom said it had recently completed a series of tests with commercial pilots from leading airlines, and the press release included glowing praise of the new cockpit, or flight deck, from Mike Bannister, who was British Airway’s chief pilot for its Concordes, the previous generation of supersonic airliners that last flew in 1985.
“After experiencing Overture’s flight deck, which is incredibly well designed and delightful to fly, my excitement and enthusiasm for this aircraft has only intensified,” Bannister said.
Boom also announced that it has accelerated development of a full-scale engine core, which it said should be operational in late 2025.
Boom said it remains on track to gain FAA approval for Overture to fly by the end of the decade.
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