Aircraft

Video: Next-gen supersonic aircraft takes flight

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XB-1 in the air
Boom Supersonic
XB-1 in the air
Boom Supersonic
XB-1 taking off
Boom Supersonic
Bill 'Doc' Shoemaker walks toward Boom's supersonic demonstrator
Boom Supersonic
Tristan 'Geppetto' Brandenburg sitting in XB-1
Boom Supersonic
Control room for the XB-1 flight
Boom Supersonic
Diagram of the XB-1
Boom Supersonic
XB-1 preparing for flight
Boom Supersonic
The XB-1 taxiing
Boom Supersonic
Rendering of the Overture supersonic airliner
Boom Supersonic
The cockpit of the XB-1
Boom Supersonic
The XB-1 has a carbon composite structure
Boom Supersonic
Wind tunnel testing of the XB-1
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XB-1 has supersonic air intakes
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XB-1 touching down
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View gallery - 14 images

The first private supersonic aircraft since Concorde retired two decades ago has taken to the skies. On March 22, Boom's XB-1 supersonic demonstrator completed its maiden flight at the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California.

When the last Concorde touched down on November 6, 2003, it didn't just seem like the end of an era, but a major technological step backwards. It was a rare example of the world losing an entire capability with the abandonment of commercial supersonic air travel without anything anywhere to replace it.

Today, NASA and a number of private companies are working on projects to reinstate faster-than-sound air travel that will not only carry passengers and cargo, but will be environmentally friendly and economically feasible. The latter is a polite way of saying that they hope it will make money.

With Chief Test Pilot Bill “Doc” Shoemaker at the controls, the XB-1 took off on an unambitious first flight that was essentially meant to show that the aircraft will fly and bits won't fall off while doing so.

Following behind was Test Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg in a T-38 chase plane to observe the flight and confirm altitude and speed. With a length of 62.6 feet (19 m) and a wingspan of 21 ft (6 m) , the XB-1 achieved an altitude of 7,120 ft (2,170 m) and speeds up to 238 knots (273 mph, 440 km/h) under the force of its three GE J85-15 engines generating a maximum thrust of 12,300 lbs.

According to Boom, once its aerodynamic characteristics and flight worthiness are confirmed, the XB-1 will increase speed until it is flying on later tests in excess of Mach 1.

XB-1 preparing for flight
Boom Supersonic

Innovations for the XB-1 include an augmented reality vision system, digitally-optimized aerodynamics, a carbon composite construction, and supersonic air intakes that decelerate incoming air to subsonic speed, allowing the aircraft to be powered by conventional jet engines.

The purpose of the XB-1 is to help develop the technology that will be incorporated into the company's Overture supersonic jetliner that is projected to carry up to 80 passengers at speeds of Mach 1.7.

"Today, XB-1 took flight in the same hallowed airspace where the Bell X-1 first broke the sound barrier in 1947," said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic. "I’ve been looking forward to this flight since founding Boom in 2014, and it marks the most significant milestone yet on our path to bring supersonic travel to passengers worldwide."

Source: Boom Supersonic

View gallery - 14 images
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7 comments
Ric
Two things: 1, why no mention of or if or how this new company, called “Boom,” intends to manage the sonic boom issue that the concord solved by only flying supersonic speeds over oceans. 2, is it just me or did the emphasis on people; pilot walking across the tarmac, strapping in, etc., rows of people at monitors in the control room, all seem a bit anachronistic in this computer age? Surely human pilots are going to become little more than psychological comfort tokens on commercial airliners and private hobbyists with the cash and passion for the sport of flying. Military and cargo planes are not going to be piloted by humans for very much longer. Test pilots will be the first to go.
V8Griff
Nothing special in this, I see supersonic single seater aircraft flying on an almost daily basis where I live. It'd be news or special when they show something akin to where Concorde development was in 1968.
Paul S
Marketing beat-up. Why the rocket launch style polling prior to take-off ? It's just another plane that needs a horizontal stabiliser to keep the nose up. Look at the flying angle of the stabiliser to keep the nose up. Holy moly that's extreme. Concorde didn't need a horizontal stabiliser to fly slow.
christopher
Stupid idea, and "supersonic" is utterly incompatible with "environmentally friendly" - nobody needs to go that fast (keeping in mind terminals and ground transport etc and the absurd overhead of getting from point A to the aircraft, then onward to point B at landing); the only time speed could make sense is with long-haul flights, but then it again makes no sense, because a slower but vastly more comfortable and efficient aircraft is the only sensible option. What we need is a laminar flow aircraft with beds. Even 25 years ago in China, all long-haul busses had beds. The idea of sitting all night in a seat is beyond ridiculous. Ever heard of a "sleeper train" - those exist because everyone already knows that sleeping in seats is dumb: why can't flight engineers understand that?

Would you rather spend $5000+ to sit uncomfortably all day for 9 hours from LAX to SYD and arrive exhausted (after wasting 4+ hours getting to and from the plane itself), or, sleep happily in a proper comfy bed for 15 hours and arrive awake, refreshed, and alert?

"economically feasible" isn't ever going to happen, and even if hell froze over and it did - as soon as someone makes a comfy alternative, supersonic is dead again anyhow.
LAWRENCE SALVADORI
I agree with V8. What's the big deal with SS airplanes. We have fighter planes that do Mach 3, and Bombers that go Mach 2. !s the big deal, that Boom is a private Company? So let's be clear, Mach 1 capability is not "New" technology. It's available technology from a variety of countries and I wonder why it's featured in New Atlas-New Technology? Well, I guess it's try and try again for those lacking original imagination.
jimbo92107
Ironic, the T38 shadowing the test plane can do Mach 1.3, and has been in service since 1961. Supersonic flight is commonplace. Meanwhile, what are they going to do about the horrible sonic boom? Their test plane and the render of their passenger plane both show giant engines UNDER the wings, where they make the most noise. What happened to putting the engines OVER the wing, to block the boom from all us mere mortals?
ReservoirPup
Mother nature has given most of us an unbeatable mode of transportation. Our legs are infinitely more versatile and practical than anything ever invented. Even cycling. The SS flight is the opposite of our legs. It’s OK as long as it has value in protecting against dictators and other lunatics, but as a 21st century transportation, even for the uber-rich, it’s a bad joke.