Elite Traveler Winter 2020

INSPIRE TOP JETS

Fast forward back to supersonic: The future holds promise with revised restrictions

Consideration of the impact of sonic booms from supersonic flight preceded the development of the Concorde aircraft and the eventual ban on flying at Mach 1.0 or faster over the US. Those rules went into effect in the early 1970s. Jump ahead almost 50 years to today, and you’ll find the FAA already working on updated rules to help foster and accommodate the development, testing and operation of supersonic aircraft, all with an eye toward new developments in supersonic flight. The FAA’s

rules and Congressional intent aside, the aerospace industry never stopped at the edge of supersonic. Now the Sun appears ready for a supersonic sunrise on the civil side of aviation, as new-generation dreamers and schemers pursue aircraft capable of achieving supersonic flight. But today’s developmental efforts include aircraft designed to fly without the accompanying sonic shock. Meet the leaders of this small pack pursuing supersonic flight for business and commercial aviation.

BOOM AEROSPACE XB-1 OVERTURE SST DEMONSTRATOR Boom Supersonic reached a significant milestone in the firm’s development of the 55-seat Overture supersonic airliner with a virtual rollout on October 7, 2020 of the XB-1 demonstrator. It’s an important step in the company’s plans for the carbon-composite airliner. Powered by a trio of GE J85-15 engines, Boom will use the XB-1 as a one-third scale demonstrator to pave the way for its Mach 2.2, 55-passenger Overture SST. The announced rollout date came as the XB-1 demonstrator neared completion ahead of the start of ground tests later in 2020 followed by flight trials in 2021. Boom holds 30 pre-orders for the Overture from Japan Airlines (JAL) and Virgin Group. Boom expects Overture flights to focus on 500+ primarily transoceanic routes that benefit from supersonic speeds — city pairs such as New York/London and San Francisco/Tokyo. The aircraft’s design mitigates the sonic boom issue by cruising efficiently at subsonic speeds over land. boomsupersonic.com