Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She is now based in Seattle near Boeing Field and spends her free time exploring nature in the Pacific Northwest.

Science & Technology Editor

Hanneke Weitering

Boom Supersonic successfully broke the sound barrier for the first time today with its XB-1 flight demonstrator, a precursor to the Overture supersonic commercial airliner, making it the first civil aircraft to go supersonic above the continental U.S.
The XB-1 took off at 8 a.m. local time from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California—in the same airspace where Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in 1947.
With Boom chief test pilot Tristan “Gepetto” Brandenburg at the helm, the XB-1 reached an altitude of 35,000 feet and accelerated beyond Mach 1 three times during the roughly 34-minute flight, which the company <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/-qisIViAHwI?feature=shared">broadcast live on YouTube</a>. Its maximum speed was Mach 1.12, or about 660 knots true airspeed.
Today’s successful mission marks the 12th test flight for the XB-1, which <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2024-03-22/boom-flies-xb-1-supersonic-demonstrator">first flew on March 22, 2024</a>. Before today, its fastest speed recorded in testing was Mach 0.95 (575 knots true airspeed) during its 11th flight on January 10.
The XB-1 is a one-third-scale demonstrator for the Overture, a planned 80-passenger commercial airliner designed to cruise at a speed of Mach 1.7 to a range of up to 4,250 nm. The 71-foot-long demonstrator is powered by three GE J85 engines that produce a combined thrust of 12,300 pounds.
Boom is developing its own <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2022-12-13/boom-supersonic-outlines-its-own-engine-design">Symphony engines</a> for the Overture, which will be 201 feet long with a wingspan of 106 feet. Four Symphony turbine engines will power the Overture, and each engine will produce 35,000 pounds of takeoff thrust, according to Boom.
Boom aims to roll out the first Overture aircraft in 2026 and begin flying it in 2027, and it hopes to complete FAA type certification by the end of the decade. The Colorado-based company holds orders and preorders for 130 Overture aircraft from a handful of <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2022-09-06/boom-seeks-engine-airlines-mull-supersonic-use-case">airline customers</a>, including United Airlines, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines.

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In this article

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