Watch the supersonic XB-1 take its first flight

Private aerospace company Boom Supersonic got its XB-1 demonstrator aircraft back in the air last week, completing the process for building a carbon fiber aircraft. First successful flight. The sound barrier has not yet been broken, but the new aircraft stands to set the stage for an efficient boom supersonic passenger aircraft to be launched in the future.

Using a conventional jet engine, carbon fiber composites and an augmented reality display in the cockpit for its human pilot, the plane took to the skies Friday from Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California. The historic Bell Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in 1947-Made his first supersonic flight just down the road, over Rogers Dry Lake.

The 19 m (62.6 ft) long demonstrator met its test objectives by reaching an altitude of 2,170 m (7,120 ft) and a speed of 273 mph (439 kph). Watch video of the Boom XB-1’s first flight below; For the impatient, the plane takes off at around 1:10.

Mike Bannister, former chief pilot of British Airways Concorde, said, “I have been waiting for more than 20 years for an environmentally friendly successor to Concorde and the first flight of the XB-1 is an important milestone in making my dream come true. It’s a stone.” In a Boom press release. I flew Concorde in 2003. I knew this day would come. The first flight of the XB-1 supersonic demonstrator is a significant achievement. “Towards making sustainable supersonic flights a reality.”

In fact, sustainability (economic stability) was the problem with Concorde, a supersonic aircraft that could fly from New York to London in less than three hours. According to the Museum of FlightThe cost of supersonic travel was rising long before a fatal accident in 2000 that killed 113 people. The sonic boom meant that the aircraft could only fly in supersonic mode over the open ocean. Cities issued noise complaints about aircraft and, today, commercial air travel is entirely subsonic.

Boom hopes to develop its Overture aircraft to fly using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made from recycled carbon dioxide, forestry waste and algae. even more. But As reported by Gizmodo Although the company says the planes will be “optimized” for such fuel in 2021, it does not promise they will run on it. Overture is currently only a concept; Boom advertises that it is expected to carry 64 to 80 passengers at a speed of Mach 1.7. In 2021, United Airlines agreed to buy Options to buy Boom’s 15 supersonic aircraft and dozens more. Washington Post reported He wants to launch Overture Jet in Boom 2029.

The Boom XB-1 isn’t the only supersonic demonstration taking to the skies in 2024. NASA’s search mission) is expected to make its maiden flight sometime this year. Unlike the boom demonstrator, the Quest Mission attempts to achieve a sonic boom. Low flying, as the agency describes it, reduces noise pollution to a “sonic boom.” NASA’s plane has one Most unusual design Compared to the Boom aircraft (which seems quite normal in terms of engines) and its mission is expected to last until 2027.

He The Federal Aviation Administration does not allow Civil aircraft can travel at speeds greater than Mach 1 on the ground. Obviously, this will have to change if the Boom team wants its planes to reach Mach 1.7 and achieve significantly shorter cross-country flights.

Ahead: The sustainability of United’s claims about the safety of supersonic aircraft is questionable