Impressive new design renderings of Boom Supersonic’s ultra-rapid Overture aircraft have been released.
The company has agreements in place with United Airlines and Japan Airlines to purchase its in-development aircraft. The company’s mission is to usher in a new age of sustainable supersonic commercial travel.
According to Boom, the Overture will be able to travel from New York to London in under 3.5 hours by flying twice as fast as current commercial aircraft.
the Concorde’s phantom successor
On July 19, Boom Supersonic showcased the modifications to its Overture aircraft for the first time at the Farnborough International Airshow.
According to the Colorado-based business, the Overture will travel at a speed of Mach 1.7 (or roughly 1,300 mph) overseas while carrying 65 to 80 people. The business anticipates that the aircraft will enter production by 2024 and operate entirely on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Boom Supersonic Senior VP Brian Durrence stated the company’s goal to “eliminate the boundaries to experiencing the earth” for individuals in an interview with IE last year. It has had to go through a few recent design iterations in order to achieve that goal.
First off, there will be fewer persons on board now. The firm claims that this tradeoff was necessary to increase the Overture’s efficiency and quietness.
Boom’s Overture will have a softer supersonic boom than the Concorde, similar to NASA’s supersonic X-59 aircraft, which means it will encounter fewer constraints while flying over populated areas. However, it should be noted that it will still need to fly over land at a speed somewhat below Mach 1.
According to the manufacturer, the aircraft will have the first automated noise reduction system in the world, buzz-free engines, and no afterburners. This means that during takeoff, it shouldn’t be any noisier than a regular airplane.
Boom Supersonic also disclosed that it had changed the fuselage and gull wings of the aircraft and installed extra engines.
In fact, Overture will now have four smaller engines mounted on its wings, allowing for both quieter operation and lower operating expenses. The plane will be 201 feet long with a 106-foot wingspan.
A fresh beginning for commercial supersonic travel
For Boom Supersonic to reach its objective of becoming operational by 2024, further work needs to be done. Boom claims that “26 million core-hours of simulated software designs, five wind tunnel tests, and the thorough examination of 51 entire design iterations” went into the creation of the new edition of Overture.
The company is still trying to find a specific engine for its aircraft, according to Boom CEO Blake Scholl.
Additionally, the new Overture design has a bigger fuselage near the front, which will lessen drag and boost fuel economy. While flying at slower speeds, the new gull wing design will increase safety and lessen engine stress.
United Airlines declared a $3 billion investment in an Overture aircraft order last year. Boom Supersonic plans to be operational by 2029 and anticipates starting flight tests in Mojave, California, around 2026.