Boom Supersonic Achieves Supersonic Flight

The primary civil supersonic jet made in America breaks the sound barrier in historic Mojave airspace

XB-1 demonstrator supplies the inspiration for Growth’s supersonic airliner, Overture

MOJAVE, Calif. and DENVER, Jan. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Growth Supersonic, the corporate constructing the world’s quickest airliner, Overture, right now introduced the profitable first supersonic flight of its XB-1 demonstrator plane on the Mojave Air & Area Port in California. Growth designed, constructed, and flew the world’s first independently developed supersonic jet—the primary civil supersonic jet made in America.

Flown by Growth Chief Check Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg, XB-1 entered the supersonic hall and reached an altitude of 35,290 ft earlier than accelerating to Mach 1.122 (652 KTAS or 750 mph) – breaking the sound barrier for the primary time. Traditionally, supersonic plane have been the work of nation states, developed by militaries and governments. XB-1’s supersonic flight marks the primary time an independently developed jet has damaged the sound barrier.

“XB-1’s supersonic flight demonstrates that the expertise for passenger supersonic flight has arrived,” stated Growth Supersonic founder and CEO Blake Scholl. “A small band of gifted and devoted engineers has achieved what beforehand took governments and billions of {dollars}. Subsequent, we’re scaling up the expertise on XB-1 for the Overture supersonic airliner. Our final aim is to carry the advantages of supersonic flight to everybody.”

The primary supersonic jet constructed from airliner expertise, XB-1 incorporates lots of the key options discovered on Overture, akin to carbon fiber composites, digital stability augmentation, and an augmented actuality imaginative and prescient system for touchdown visibility.

Following its inaugural flight in March 2024, XB-1 accomplished a rigorous sequence of 11 human-piloted check flights beneath more and more difficult situations to guage programs and aerodynamics. Over the course of the flight check marketing campaign, the XB-1 crew systematically expanded the flight envelope by subsonic, transonic, and supersonic speeds—whereas taking sensible dangers and sustaining security as prime precedence.

“It has been a privilege and a spotlight of my profession to be part of the crew that achieved this milestone—each single member of this crew was vital to our success,” stated Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg, Chief Check Pilot for Growth Supersonic. “Our self-discipline and methodical strategy to this flight check program created the security tradition that made a protected and profitable first supersonic flight doable. With the teachings realized from XB-1, we will proceed to construct the way forward for supersonic journey.”

XB-1 supplies the inspiration for Overture, validating key applied sciences whereas establishing a safety-first tradition. Applied sciences confirmed by XB-1’s check program that can even apply to Overture embody:

• Augmented actuality imaginative and prescient system: XB-1 and Overture each have a protracted nostril and a excessive angle of assault for takeoff and touchdown, which makes it tough for pilots to see the runway in entrance of them. Each plane leverage an augmented actuality imaginative and prescient system to allow wonderful runway visibility—with out the burden and complexity of a moveable nostril like Concorde’s.
• Digitally-optimized aerodynamics: Engineers used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to discover hundreds of designs for XB-1. The result’s an optimized design that mixes protected and secure operation at takeoff and touchdown with effectivity at supersonic speeds. CFD can be used extensively within the Overture program.
• Carbon fiber composites: Each XB-1 and Overture are virtually completely comprised of carbon fiber composite supplies, leading to a classy aerodynamic design with a robust, light-weight construction.
• Supersonic intakes: XB-1’s engine intakes gradual supersonic air to subsonic speeds, effectively changing kinetic vitality into strain vitality, permitting typical jet engines to energy XB-1 from takeoff by supersonic flight. Learnings from the event of XB-1’s specialised intakes are being utilized to Overture and its purpose-built turbofan engine, Symphony.

XB-1’s supersonic flight befell in the identical historic airspace the place Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier for the primary time in 1947, amongst many different historic firsts. The primary supersonic flight of XB-1 marks the primary human-piloted civil supersonic flight since Concorde’s retirement over 20 years in the past, paving the way in which for the return of economic supersonic flight onboard Overture. Overture will carry 64-80 passengers at Mach 1.7, about twice the pace of right now’s subsonic airliners, on over 600 international routes.

Overture has an order guide of 130 orders and pre-orders from American Airways, United Airways, and Japan Airways. In 2024, Growth accomplished development on the Overture Superfactory in Greensboro, North Carolina, which is able to scale to supply 66 Overture plane per yr. Optimized for pace, security, and sustainability, Overture and its bespoke propulsion system, Symphony, are designed to run on as much as 100% sustainable aviation gas (SAF).

For extra details about XB-1, please go to: https://boomsupersonic.com/xb-1

For extra details about Overture, please go to: https://boomsupersonic.com/overture

About Growth Supersonic
Growth Supersonic’s mission is to make the world dramatically extra accessible by flights which might be quicker, extra reasonably priced, extra handy, and extra sustainable.

Growth is creating Overture, the world’s quickest airliner, optimized for pace, security, and sustainability. Overture will fly at twice the pace of right now’s airliners and is optimized to run on as much as 100% sustainable aviation gas (SAF). Overture’s order guide stands at 130 plane, together with orders and pre-orders from American Airways, United Airways, and Japan Airways. Growth is working with Northrop Grumman for presidency and protection functions of Overture. Suppliers and companions collaborating with Growth on the Overture program embody Aernnova, Aciturri, Collins Aerospace, Eaton, Honeywell, Latecoere, Leonardo, Safran Touchdown Techniques, Common Avionics, and the USA Air Pressure.

Symphony™ is the purpose-built turbofan engine that may allow supersonic flight. The Growth-developed engine is supported by world-class suppliers together with Florida Turbine Applied sciences (FTT), a Kratos firm, Colibrium Additive, and StandardAero.

XB-1 is Growth’s expertise demonstrator plane and the world’s first independently developed supersonic jet. The plane first took flight in Mojave, CA in March 2024 and accomplished a sequence of flight exams, culminating in its first supersonic flight in January 2025. For extra data, go to https://boomsupersonic.com. 

Photographs and video obtainable at https://boomsupersonic.com/newsroom/media-assets

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SOURCE Growth Supersonic