The first private supersonic aircraft took to the sky since the Concorde was retired two decades ago. On March 22, the supersonic demonstrator Boom XB-1 completed its first flight at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
"Today, XB-1 flew in that same sacred airspace where 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 a significant milestone in our path to delivering supersonic travel worldwide."
The first flight essentially aimed to demonstrate that the aircraft is capable of flying and maintaining structural integrity. Test pilot Bill "Doc" Shoemaker was at the controls of the XB-1 demonstrator. Following him in the supersonic T-38 aircraft was test pilot Tristan "Geppetto" Brandenburg. His goal was to observe the flight and confirm altitude and speed.
The XB-1 aircraft is 19m long, with a wingspan of 6m and 3 GE J85-15 engines, providing a thrust of around 5.6 tonnes. During the first flight, the aircraft reached an altitude of 2,170m and a speed of 440km/h.
These are not the performance metrics expected from a supersonic aircraft. However, Boom claims that once the aerodynamic characteristics and flight capabilities of the XB-1 are confirmed, the aircraft will be able to increase speed, with plans to exceed Mach 1 - over 1,000km/h - in subsequent tests.
XB-1 incorporates several innovations. These include augmented reality system, digitally optimized aerodynamics, carbon composite structure, and supersonic intakes that slow down incoming air to subsonic speeds. This allows the aircraft to use conventional jet engines.
The goal of XB-1 is to help develop technology that will be used in the Overture company's supersonic jet designed to carry up to 80 passengers at speeds of 1.7 Mach.
Source: newatlas
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