Boom Supersonic has unveiled a new design for its 1,300mph airliner, which when it launches in 2029, will carry passengers between London and New York in just three and a half hours.
The new look for the plane – called ‘Overture’ – is, says Denver-based Boom, the culmination of ’26million core hours of simulated software designs, five wind tunnel tests, and the careful evaluation of 51 full design iterations’. The new design was revealed this week at the Farnborough International Airshow, with Boom describing Overture as an ‘economically and environmentally sustainable supersonic airliner’.
Video: Boom Supersonic reveals new design for its 1,300mph passenger jet
Boom says that the updated configuration ‘combines a number of engineering innovations in aerodynamics, noise reduction, and overall performance’, with CEO and Boom Founder Blake Scholl describing Overture as ‘kind of like if Concorde and a 747 had a baby’.
Overture will be powered by four powerful, wing-mounted engines that enable the airliner to cruise at Mach 1.7 (1,300mph) over water and just under Mach 1 (770mph) over land. Additionally, the four-engine design ‘reduces noise while also decreasing costs for airline operators’, with ‘engine placement selected to conform to the strictest passenger safety requirements’.
Boom adds that Overture, which will be able to fly at 60,000ft and carry between 65 and 80 passengers, will use ‘the world’s first automated noise reduction system’ and will fly without afterburners, ‘meeting the same strict regulatory noise levels as the latest subsonic airplanes’.
The contoured fuselage, meanwhile, has a larger diameter at the front and a small diameter at the back to ‘minimise drag’ and gull wings sculpted to ‘enhance supersonic performance as well as improve subsonic and transonic handling’.
‘Importantly,’ adds Boom, ‘the wing shaping also helps ensure safety and stability at any speed’.
In addition, Overture will incorporate carbon composite materials that are ‘lighter, stronger and more thermally stable than traditional metals’ and has been developed from the beginning ‘to be net zero carbon, flying on 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)’ and with ‘sustainability woven into all aspects, from design and production to flight and end-of-life recycling’.
‘Aviation has not seen a giant leap in decades. Overture is revolutionary in its design, and it will fundamentally change how we think about distance,’ said Mr Scholl. ‘With more than 600 routes across the globe, Overture will make the world dramatically more accessible for tens of millions of passengers.’
Boom Supersonic also announced a ‘landmark partnering agreement’ with Northrop Grumman to develop ‘special mission variants’ for the U.S. Government and its allies.
‘Time is a strategic advantage in high-consequence scenarios, from emergency evacuations to disaster response,’ said Scholl. ‘This collaboration between Boom and Northrop Grumman unlocks the potential for Overture to provide the US and our allies with an unmatched high speed capability when and where it’s most needed.’
Last year United announced a deal to buy 15 Overture aircraft, with an option for an additional 35. Overture is slated to roll out in 2025, fly in 2026 and expected to carry passengers by 2029. Concorde, the last supersonic passenger jet, entered service in 1976 and continued flying for 27 years.
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