The “flight envelope” in aviation refers to an aircraft’s operational limits. How fast can it safely go? How high can it climb? How much can it carry?
Over five initial test flights, Boom Supersonic has begun to push the envelope. The startup with plans to assemble supersonic passenger jets in North Carolina completed its first flight in March at California’s Mojave Air & Space Port, about 90 miles north of Los Angeles. On this inaugural run, the needle-nosed XB-1 soared at 7,120 feet and 273 mph. During its fifth test, conducted Monday, the jet reached 17,800 feet and approximately 373 mph.
The new velocity is still below what even traditional commercial airliners achieve. Boom says that will soon change; in posting footage of its latest liftoff, the company shared it is on pace to break the sound barrier “by year-end.”
The XB-1 serves as the design foundation for Boom’s future jet, a concept model called Overture. The company promises it will eventually carry 64 to 80 passengers at Mach 1.7, or roughly double the speed of today’s traditional commercial airliners. Earlier this year, Boom CEO Blake Scholl said round-trip flights on Overture will start around $5,000, as the jet maker at first markets to business class customers on international routes.
In its effort to revitalize the supersonic commercial industry, dormant since the Concorde last flew in 2003, Colorado-based Boom has picked North Carolina as a hub.
In June, the company completed construction on its first manufacturing and testing facility, a 179,000-square-foot hangar at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro. In exchange for its commitment to create at least 1,760 jobs and invest half a billion dollars at the site, Boom received up to $87 million in potential payroll tax benefits from the state. To lure Boom away from Florida, North Carolina appropriated an additional $56 million upfront for Boom to construct two aircraft hangars.
Boom plans to install equipment at its new Greensboro facility through at least the spring. The company said it would test the XB-1 exclusively in the Mojave, but aims to trial Overtures in North Carolina. And Boom hopes Overture will be certified to transport passengers by 2029.
Supersonic speed doesn’t begin at a fixed point, as temperature, humidity and air pressure all affect how fast an aircraft must go to qualify. According to Boom, a jet must reach around 770 mph at sea level to break the sound barrier.
“Like other aircraft programs, we use a progressive approach testing one new thing at a time,” Nick Sheryka, chief flight test engineer of Boom’s testing program, says in a company video released in September after the third flight.
Since starting the test runs, Sheryka said Boom has “pressurized the cockpit” and “refined XB-1’s stability augmentation system,” among other improvements.
Boom maintains a live blog, which it has updated after each XB-1 test. The company says it expects to complete about 10 test flights in Mojave before it “inevitably” hits supersonic speeds.
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