DENVER - Boom Supersonic in Denver announced that the company has completed several key milestones for XB-1, Boom's technology demonstrator aircraft. XB-1 employs technologies like carbon fiber composites, advanced avionics, and digitally-optimized aerodynamics to enable sustainable supersonic travel.
Earlier this year, XB-1 was moved from the company's hangar in Centennial, Colorado to the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California to continue preparations for flight. The aircraft has undergone extensive ground testing since arriving, including taxi testing this week.
In addition to the ongoing testing, XB-1 recently received an experimental airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), following a detailed aircraft inspection. Boom has also secured letters of authorization to allow Chief Test Pilot Bill "Doc" Shoemaker and test pilot Tristan "Gepetto" Brandenburg to fly XB-1. Additionally, letters of agreement with airspace authorities are in place allowing for flights of the aircraft over the Mojave desert.
XB-1 has provided the company with valuable learnings, including the development of a robust safety culture. In preparation for flight, Boom's test pilots have completed hundreds of hours in the simulator for aircraft evaluation, operations development, training, and human factors assessments to achieve the highest levels of safety. The test pilots also maintain flight proficiency in a T-38 trainer aircraft, the same aircraft that will be used as a chase plane for all flight tests of XB-1. To further increase safety, the test pilots will use the T-38 to practice formation flying.
XB-1 features a carbon composite and titanium fuselage measuring 71 feet in length. Its ogive (modified delta) wing enables safe operation at takeoff and landing as well as supersonic speeds. The three General Electric J85 engines that power XB-1 produce a combined maximum thrust of 12,300 pounds of force (lbf).
The supersonic demonstrator aircraft rolled out of Boom's hangar in Centennial, Colorado in October 2020. Since then, rigorous testing of all of XB-1's internal subsystems has been completed. Upgraded landing gear and supersonic engine intakes were also installed on XB-1, both of which increase performance and safety.
Across its development, XB-1 has validated Boom's approach to airplane design and enabled engineers to leverage advanced tools like computational fluid dynamics (CFD) which are critical components of Overture's development. Overture is the sustainable supersonic airliner from Boom that will fly at Mach 1.7, or about twice the speed of today's fastest airliners, and is designed to run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
