Less than a year from the maiden flight, the first civil supersonic jet made by a private company aims to demonstrate technologies to pave the way for the return of supersonic airliners.
The XB-1 supersonic aircraft demonstrator of Boom Supersonic flew for the first time at supersonic speed on Jan. 28, 2025 from the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California. The milestone comes less than a year after the maiden flight, which happened on Mar. 22, 2024.
Flown by Boom Chief Test Pilot and former U.S. Navy aviator Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg, the XB-1 entered the supersonic corridor over the Mojave Desert and reached an altitude of 35,290 feet before accelerating to Mach 1.122 (652 KTAS or 750 mph), said the company, breaking the sound barrier for the first time. The entire flight was live streamed, thanks to the inclusion of a T-38 which acted as a photo chase, in addition to the safety chase represented by an ATAC Mirage F1.
The supersonic corridor mentioned here is the Bell X-1 Supersonic Corridor, the same portion of airspace which was used by “Chuck” Yeager and the X-1 in 1947 to go supersonic for the first time. The airspace was given this name during the 75th Anniversary of Supersonic Flight Ceremony to honor of the courageous team that made this achievement possible.
“It has been a privilege and a highlight of my career to be a part of the team that achieved this milestone—every single member of this team was critical to our success,” said Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg, Chief Test Pilot for Boom Supersonic. “Our discipline and methodical approach to this flight test program created the safety culture that made a safe and successful first supersonic flight possible. With the lessons learned from XB-1, we can continue to build the future of supersonic travel.”
Prior to the supersonic flight, the XB-1 performed 11 test flights to expand the flight envelope and evaluate systems and aerodynamics through subsonic, transonic, and supersonic speeds. The company decided to take small steps during the test campaign “while taking smart risks” to ensure the supersonic flight could be performed safely.
The road to the return of supersonic civilian airliners
Two decades after Concorde’s retirement, the first supersonic flight of XB-1 marks the return of a civil supersonic aircraft to the skies and paves the way for the revival of mainstream supersonic travel. The aircraft, an all-composite, three-engine, delta-wing, single seat supersonic testbed, rolled out of factory in 2020 and was initially expected to fly in 2021. As reported, the first flight finally happened in 2024.
“Historically, supersonic aircraft have been the work of nation states, developed by militaries and governments,” said Boom Supersonics in its press release. “XB-1’s supersonic flight marks the first time an independently developed jet has broken the sound barrier.”
Boom is supersonic. On Jan. 28, 2025 at 8:31am PST / 16:31 GMT, XB-1 broke the sound barrier.
Chief Test Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg safely and successfully achieved supersonic speed in XB-1, the first civil supersonic jet made in America.
✅New top speed: Mach 1.122… pic.twitter.com/GenfoWRK6P
— Boom Supersonic (@boomaero) January 28, 2025
In fact, XB-1, according to the company, is the world’s first independently developed supersonic jet and leverages state-of-the-art technologies to enable efficient supersonic flight including carbon fiber composites, advanced avionics, digitally-optimized aerodynamics, and an advanced supersonic propulsion system.
“XB-1’s supersonic flight demonstrates that the technology for passenger supersonic flight has arrived,” said Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl. “A small band of talented and dedicated engineers has accomplished what previously took governments and billions of dollars. Next, we are scaling up the technology on XB-1 for the Overture supersonic airliner. Our ultimate goal is to bring the benefits of supersonic flight to everyone.”
Overture will carry 64-80 passengers at Mach 1.7 and is designed to run on up to 100% sustainable aviation fuel, as Boom aims to make it 100% carbon neutral. The company also specified that the aircraft will fly at full speed over water, doubling the cruise speed of current airliners, while over land it will be restricted to a speed only 20% higher.
Overture will be 201 ft (about 61 m) long, all-composite, propelled by four engines, with a max range of 4,250 nm. The engine, also being developed by Boom, is called Symphony and is a turbofan capable of providing 35,000 lb of thrust, produced also with the help of additive manufacturing.
Boom is supersonic. On Jan. 28, 2025 at 8:31am PST / 16:31 GMT, XB-1 broke the sound barrier.
Chief Test Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg safely and successfully achieved supersonic speed in XB-1, the first civil supersonic jet made in America.
✅New top speed: Mach 1.122… pic.twitter.com/GenfoWRK6P
— Boom Supersonic (@boomaero) January 28, 2025
Overture already collected a total of 130 orders and pre-orders from American Airlines, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines since the first flight. In 2024, Boom also completed construction on the Overture Superfactory in Greensboro, North Carolina, which will scale to produce 66 Overture aircraft per year, according to the statement.
XB-1’s technologies
The XB-1demonstrator incorporates many of the key features found on Overture, such as carbon fiber composites, digital stability augmentation, and an augmented reality vision system for landing visibility. The aircraft will help validate key technologies while establishing a safety-first culture, says the company.
The augmented reality vision system being tested on XB-1 and which will be found on Overture will help mitigate the fact that both have a long nose and a high angle of attack for takeoff and landing, which makes it difficult for pilots to see the runway in front of them. This was the pilots will still have an excellent runway visibility, something that on the Concorde could only by solved with a complex moveable nose. The augmented reality is also being used by NASA’s X-59 QueSST.
The aerodynamics of the XB-1 demonstrator has been digitally optimized thanks to the heavy use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. This allowed to explore multiple designs to obtain the right one that combines safe and stable operation at takeoff and landing with efficiency at supersonic speeds.
As weight is always one of the most important factors in the aerospace industry, the XB-1 and Overture are almost entirely made from carbon fiber composite materials, with a structure which is both strong and lightweight. Another key aspect is represented by the air intakes as, similarly to fighter aircraft, they need to slow supersonic air down to subsonic speeds, efficiently converting kinetic energy into pressure energy and allowing conventional jet engines to propel the aircraft throughout the flight.
