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Overture as supersonic Air Force One
As Boom Supersonic gets ready for ultra-fast flights from London to New York, President Donald J. Trump has recently shown off designs for the “Son of Concorde” supersonic jet.
The President beamed as he posed with an Overture model, of a plane being built by Boom Supersonic – presented to him by the firm’s CEO.
As noted by The Sun, the photo was proudly posted on X by Boom Supersonic chief Blake Scholl.
Scholl suggested that Boom Supersonic should manufacture Air Force One – the President’s personal plane – and took a cheeky dig at China.
He wrote: “Air Fore Once should be supersonic. Xi [President of China] can keep his 747-8.”
Overture is dubbed the “Son of Concorde” because it will fly faster than the speed of sound – as the original Concorde did.
The company has built a plane called Boom XB-1 – known as “Baby Boom” – which first flew on Mar. 22, 2024 and is a one-third scale model of the Overture airliner design.
XB-1 is history’s first independently developed supersonic jet and supersonic demonstrator built by Boom Supersonic, the aerospace company building Overture, the world’s fastest airliner. XB-1 provides the foundation for Overture.
Boomless Cruise
Additionally, XB-1 also provided confirmation of no audible sonic boom during its recent supersonic runs proving that quiet supersonic flight (AKA Boomless Cruise, where no audible boom reaches the ground) is possible on Overture.
When in Boomless Cruise, speeds are 40-50% faster than conventional airliners. This means a flight from New York to Los Angeles can be up to 90 minutes shorter. Hybrid routes with overland and overwater segments, such as Chicago to Frankfurt, will also see incremental time savings.
Unlike “low boom” designs, Boomless Cruise does not require extensive aircraft shaping. Instead, it relies on the ability to break the sound barrier at a high enough altitude where the boom refracts harmlessly away from the ground.
On Overture, Boomless Cruise is specifically enabled by the Symphony engines. These engines feature enhanced transonic performance compared to commercially derived engines, allowing Overture to efficiently transition to supersonic speeds at altitudes above 30,000 feet.
Additionally, Boomless Cruise is enabled by an advanced autopilot which uses current weather conditions and software algorithms to automatically select the optimal speed for Boomless Cruise.
Noteworthy, boomless and low boom are distinct concepts. In Boomless Cruise, Overture’s sonic boom does not reach the ground. However, at its full Mach 1.7 speed over water, Overture will generate a sonic boom.
Book of 130 orders and pre-orders
Overture is designed to be most efficient at high subsonic speeds of Mach 0.94 and supersonic speed of Mach 1.7. As aerodynamic drag increases closer to speed of sound, there is a modest increase in fuel burn at low supersonic speeds. Even with this drag penalty, Overture still has plenty of range to fly the longest transcontinental routes, such as Vancouver-Miami.
According to Boom Supersonic, the initial Overture is not designed as a low-boom aircraft, and the company does not expect to certify it for unrestricted supersonic flight over land.
Overture has an order book of 130 orders and pre-orders from American Airlines, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines. In 2024, Boom completed construction on the Overture Superfactory in Greensboro, North Carolina, which will scale to produce 66 Overture aircraft per year. Optimized for speed, safety, and sustainability, Overture and its bespoke propulsion system, Symphony, are designed to run on up to 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Boom aims at flying the first example of Overture by 2029.
Photo credit: Boom Supersonic and x/bscholl
