Boom about to go supersonic
The commercial supersonic airplane company Boom is on the verge of flying its XB-1 test vehicle faster than the speed of sound.
The company has been doing a regular test flight program, each time increasing the plane’s speed.
During the latest 44-minute flight at an altitude of 29,481 ft (8,986 m) with Chief Test Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg at the controls, the prototype aircraft reached transonic speed. That is, flight so close to Mach 1 that some areas of airflow over the airframe exceed the speed of sound.
It’s also the point where the XB-1 was subjected to a maximum dynamic pressure of 383 Knots Equivalent Air Speed (KEAS), which is a pressure on the fuselage and wings greater than what it would experience when flying supersonic at Mach 1.1.
In short, XB-1 pushed what was once called the Sound Barrier.
Next step: break the sound barrier.
At the completion of this testing the company will then begin manufacture of its full scale supersonic passenger plane, dubbed Overture, that will carry up to 80 passengers and will sell to airlines. It already has contracts and financial support from a number of major airlines, including United and Japan Airlines.
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The commercial supersonic airplane company Boom is on the verge of flying its XB-1 test vehicle faster than the speed of sound.
The company has been doing a regular test flight program, each time increasing the plane’s speed.
During the latest 44-minute flight at an altitude of 29,481 ft (8,986 m) with Chief Test Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg at the controls, the prototype aircraft reached transonic speed. That is, flight so close to Mach 1 that some areas of airflow over the airframe exceed the speed of sound.
It’s also the point where the XB-1 was subjected to a maximum dynamic pressure of 383 Knots Equivalent Air Speed (KEAS), which is a pressure on the fuselage and wings greater than what it would experience when flying supersonic at Mach 1.1.
In short, XB-1 pushed what was once called the Sound Barrier.
Next step: break the sound barrier.
At the completion of this testing the company will then begin manufacture of its full scale supersonic passenger plane, dubbed Overture, that will carry up to 80 passengers and will sell to airlines. It already has contracts and financial support from a number of major airlines, including United and Japan Airlines.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Related new flying technology:
DELTA CEO ON JOBY’s EVTOL / AIR TAXI’S / “FLYING CARS”
“EVTOL’s (Electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) powered by battery technology are closer to being operational than you might think.”
https://www.sigma3ioc.com/post/delta-ceo-on-joby-s-evtol-air-taxi-s-flying-cars-1
The first time I saw something like a flying car was Moller’s.
I think it was on Adam Savage’s site where he said the facility only looked like a ship.
The X-Jet was more interesting
Yes, The Moller Skycar.
It was really the first serious attempt at such a thing.
Rotary engines and ducted fans.
$100K back then if I remember correctly.
Never quite made it but was going in the correct direction.
The Moller Skycar was terribly noisy! 8-12 tiny 2-stroke engines, all at full song, trying to lift that heavy Skycar made for quite a racket! Future flying cars will need to be as quiet as non-flying cars, or they won‘t be accepted by the public.