Supersonic Dreams: Can Boom Revive Ultra-Fast Flight?

I’m sure you’ve seen those iconic Concorde photos, a needle-nosed marvel of 1960s aviation that could traverse the Atlantic in just three hours. Six miles above the ocean, free cocktails in hand, the supersonic jet set raced the sun to their destinations while we common folk ambled through aisles to cramped seats and dubious in-flight meals below.

Yet even as mankind conquered the sound barrier, economic realities humbled those lofty ambitions. Concorde’s last commercial flight took place in 2003, not long after I took my first toddling steps onto a transatlantic 747. Supersonic flight slipped into aviation history…or so I thought.

Imagine my surprise reading about Boom Supersonic, the plucky Colorado startup vowing to resurrect fast flight! They‘ve promised their flagship Overture jet will whisk the well-heeled from Los Angeles to London in a mere 5 hours by 2029.

Is mainstream supersonic travel poised for a comeback? Let’s investigate…

Boom By the Numbers

First, who is Boom Supersonic? Well, here are some key stats on the company:

• Founded: 2014 in Denver, CO
• Founders: Blake Scholl (CEO), Joe Wilding, Josh Krall
• Funding: Over $250 million to date
• Headcount: 170 employees, targeting over 1,700 by 2030

So in just 8 years, Boom has managed to attract major Silicon Valley-style funding and poach talent from incumbents like Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The ambitious timeline has already faced delays – Overture was originally slated to debut in 2023.

Yet they now have tangible momentum and hardware, like the recent rollout of their 1⁄3 scale XB-1 demo jet.

Boom‘s XB-1 demonstrator aircraft aims to validate technologies and modeling.

So what does Boom Supersonic promise, and how likely are they to deliver?

Overture Promises Best-of-Both-Worlds Supersonic

Boom’s bid to rescusitate supersonic hinges on their flagship Overture airliner, slated to carry 65 to 88 passengers at cruising speeds of Mach 1.7 (1,300 mph). At such velocities, flight times could be slashed by half:

Projected Overture Flight Times

With over 600 routes worldwide viable for Overture, Boom predicts a $160 billion market based on the sheer appeal of time savings. And early signs bode well – United, Japan Airlines and Virgin Atlantic pre-ordered 30 jets worth some $6 billion before any fully operational test flight!

Yet Boom asserts they’ll avoid Concorde’s pitfalls and unprofitability by balancing speed with operating costs. With innovations in design, metallurgy and engines, they believe supersonic needn’t be exorbitantly expensive to fly or maintain.

“There’s clearly demand for faster flights, as the commercial success of business jets and first class tickets demonstrates,” said CEO Blake Scholl by email. “With modern advancements, we can now make the supersonic experience much more accessible to travelers.”

So in contrast to six-figure Concorde tickets, Boom wants to enable business class-style pricing between $4,000-$6,000 for a return LA-to-London trip. How? Read on for the technical secrets…

Technical Innovations – Fast Yet Frugal

A key hurdle with supersonic flight is taming extreme heat and friction. When confronting dense atmosphere head-on at Mach 1.7, airframe materials and engines wear quickly. Concorde pilots had to carefully temper the afterburners on those droop-nosed Olympus engines to balance blistering acceleration with engine lifespan.

Yet evolutions in design tools, composite materials and propulsion systems make supersonic flight more technically and economically feasible according to Boom‘s VP of Manufacturing Chris Johnson.

"We‘re able to model performance through physical designs and simulations with accuracy Concorde‘s builders would have envied," said Johnson via email. "And carbon fiber constructs enable lighter, stronger and more thermally stable structures."

Let‘s analyze some of Overture‘s major elements and innovations:

Fuselage

• Composite construction with proprietary thermal protection to withstand friction heating
• Custom automated manufacturing process for precision, repeatability
• Design geometry optimized for supersonic cruise efficiency

Wings

• Gull wing shape for stability/control at high speeds
• All-composite construction, reinforced in areas of greatest mechanical stress
• Parts count reduced by half compared to conventional wings

Engines

• Four medium-bypass turbofans currently in development, dubbed "Symphony"
• Optimized for liquid natural gas fuel to control emissions
• Expected to achieve highest thrust-to-weight ratio ever for a supersonic engine

Avionics + Systems

• Retains conventional electrical, hydraulics and other subsystems
• Around 75% of systems by part count are proven, mature commercial hardware
• Reduces engineering costs, certification complexity

Such manufacturing and design choices aim to tame supersonic speeds while watchfully eying costs – something Concorde lacked the tools or incentives to do 50 years ago.

"We‘re able to balance efficiency with affordability in ways that simply weren‘t possible for programs in the 1960‘s," concluded Johnson.

Yet questions remain on if Boom can truly cover enough economic ground before Overture enters service this decade.

Doubts Remain on Economics, Demand

Certainly Boom may be its own biggest booster, making enthusiastic projections about passenger demand. They forsee a future where hours saved makes supersonic irresistable.

Yet even if technically feasible, will mainstream travelers truly flock to Mach 1.7 airliners? And can Boom‘s innovations overcome economic gravity?

Industry watchers like former British Airways CEO Willie Walsh think not. Walsh helmed BA when they retired the Concorde fleet and calls out supersonic‘s still daunting barriers. Beyond noise regulations, sheer aircraft improvements now blunt the speed advantage.

‘It’s still going to take 61⁄2 hours to get to New York, because you won’t fly supersonic over land,‘ opined Walsh. ‘You have aircraft today like the A350 and Boeing 787 that are so efficient that the time difference gets smaller.‘

Indeed, hampered by overland speed restrictions and flight distances within ~4,500 miles, Boom‘s theoretical hours saved shrink. And rising jet fuel costs may constrain their operating economics despite innovations.

Passengers too may resist pricier tickets, even on biz class Boom flights costing multiples above standard Premium Economy. And regulatory winds continue to blow colder regarding noise, emissions and environmental impacts.

So while Boom‘s progress is undeniable, they may face disappointing ticket sales, stricter limits or unforeseen program delays as Overture comes to market.

The Road Ahead – Boom or Bust?

Near-term, Boom is smartly buoyed by its demonstrator program. The XB-1 roll-out and upcoming test regimen lend solid credence that they can master supersonic technologies and aerodynamics using their design approach.

Yet significant financial, regulatory, environmental, and safety hurdles remain on the road to 75+ passenger operations by 2029. Boom will need to flawlessly execute on an extremely ambitious schedule to have Overture ready for commercial service.

As an enthusiastic observer with industry connections, I give them about even odds – hardly assured, but well-positioned. In the meantime, I‘ll settle for tracking XB-1 test flights from my slower yet still wondrous window seat. Maybe I‘ll live to snap a selfie aboard an Overture before I‘m too old to properly enjoy it!

Safe travels until then, my friend 🙂