Boom Announces Successful Flight of XB-1 Demonstrator Aircraft

boomsupersonic.com ^ | MAR 22, 2024

[Red Badger]

Inaugural flight marks major milestone toward return of supersonic travel. XB-1 provides the foundation for Boom’s supersonic airliner, Overture.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today, Boom announced the successful flight of XB-1, the world’s first independently developed supersonic jet, at the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California. Like Overture, Boom’s supersonic airliner, XB-1 leverages state-of-the-art technologies to enable efficient supersonic flight including carbon fiber composites, advanced avionics, digitally-optimized aerodynamics, and an advanced supersonic propulsion system.

VIDEO AT LINK.............

“Today, XB-1 took flight in the same hallowed airspace where the Bell X-1 first broke the sound barrier in 1947,” said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic. “I’ve been looking forward to this flight since founding Boom in 2014, and it marks the most significant milestone yet on our path to bring supersonic travel to passengers worldwide.”

MORE PICS AT LINK.................

[adorno]

Because the Concorde made a tremendous sonic boom.

Then, it's bound to fail. You can't undo physics. If it had been possible, it would have been done long ago.

Still, it the idea is to reduce sonic booms, why not take the Concorde design and work to reduce or undo the sonic booms in that design?

[dagunk]

A jet engine can run on a lot of different fuels...................

*********************************************

Oh Yeah. Worked C-141 aircraft years ago. The engines will burn just about anything flammable.
The problem was the fuel control. It’s basically a hydraulic analog computer that needs lubrication. One section of the manuals gave information on different fuels and how much lubricant to put in the fuel to keep the fuel control happy. Ran a close-typed page of combinations.

[Red Badger]

I don’t know why people seem to think ‘Jet Fuel’ is some exotic kind of fuel. They seem amazed when you tell them it’s mostly kerosene..................

[BenLurkin]

It all depends on the "seating" configuration...

[adorno]

Because the Concorde made a lot of noise and burned fuel like crazy.

They'll end up doing like the Concorde. Fly below the speed of sound over land, and then supersonic over water. And, you cannot defy the physics of what causes sonic booms.

And, to burn less fuel. the aircraft will have to be smaller with a lowered capacity for passengers. Or, go electric. ;) So, with cars/trucks we now have EVs, so with aircraft, we'll have EPs (electric planes). Yeah, that last part will never happen, since mid-air recharging stations do not exist yet. ;)

[NorthMountain]

1) They're not trying to undo physics, they're trying to work physics to their (our) advantage.

If it had been possible, it would have been done long ago.

That statement is simply absurd.

2) why not take the Concorde design and work to reduce or undo the sonic booms in that design? Because there's nothing in the Concorde design that helps them. The Concorde, again, is a prime example of what NOT to do.

[Major Matt Mason]

XB-1 leverages state-of-the-art technologies to enable efficient supersonic flight including carbon fiber composites

Hopefully these materials will handle flight better than submersion.

[NorthMountain]

Hope is not a plan, Major. Every officer knows that.

Carbon fiber is strong in tension, weak in compression.

When the carbon fiber is containing internal pressure relative to its environment, it is in tension.

When the carbon fiber is resisting external pressure relative to its interior, it is in compression.

Therefore, a carbon fiber aircraft hull is strong. A carbon fiber submarine hull is weak.

[Red Badger]

[nuke_road_warrior]

They did, then the government cut funding. Boeing went ahead with the 747 and made a butt ton of money, Back when Boeing was a benchmark for quality aircraft. Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation developed the Concord (Concorde) which never made a dime.

[NorthMountain]

Assuming sea level atmospheric pressure inside the hull of the vessel:

1) What is the maximum pressure differential an aircraft hull can experience when flying?

2) What is the maximum pressure differential a submarine hull can experience when diving?

[noiseman]

If it had been possible, it would have been done long ago.

Huh? Read that sentence you wrote again and think about how silly it is. Was there a Neanderthal space program 10,000 years ago that I’m not aware of? Did they also have iPhones because, “If it had been possible, it would have been done long ago?”

The X-59 that is now researching sonic boom reduction is a huge jump forward acoustically compared to the Concorde. Its fuselage is uniquely designed to spread the shockwave out across the fuselage to dilute the pressure differential. That’s why it has a shockingly long, specially contoured nose, and the pilot has no forward windscreen, instead relying upon cameras and synthetic vision. That design and the extremely high altitude at which it will fly should combine to prevent most of the acoustic energy from reaching the ground. I’ve experienced Lockheed Martin’s sonic boom simulator that allows you to hear a typical sonic boom, followed by the sound that the X-59 is expected to make. It’s really stunning, going from a very loud boom that shakes everything to a barely noticeable thump that Lockheed says should be no louder than someone nearby closing a car door.

[Red Badger]

Concorde should have been just a stepping stone to the next level. The disasters of the first early commercial jetliners, the de Havilland Comets, didn’t stop development................

[Red Badger]

Until cracks appear...................😁

[NorthMountain]

Sorry ...

No credit for that answer.

[Phlyer]

Why not just take the Concorde specs and work from there?

Going supersonic, while not trivial, is a well-established technology. Going supersonic economically enough for either airliner or even bizjet travel is another matter. Concorde never even came close.

The only jet which can cruise with a significant supersonic speed (approximately M1.5) without using afterburners is the F-22, and the real magic there is not in the airframe - though it was designed very carefully. The real magic there is in the engine which can provide a lot of thrust at M1.5 even without afterburner. If these guys can develop an engine of whatever size they will need on the full-scale airliner, with the amazing performance of the F-22's engine, then they have a chance that Concorde, with those old-design engines never had.

After that, it's possible the airframe will turn out to look sort of like Concorde (as the Russian TU-144 did). However, the second big issue is sonic boom, which was the excuse given for not allowing Concorde to fly supersonically over land. To fix that, you probably need a tail more like is on the recently revealed Lockheed Skunk Works project.

So, can't use the Concorde engines or anything like them, and can't use the Concorde airframe economically (since most of the high-paying routes involve overland legs), but whatever turns out, I'm sure someone will say that they would have been better off if they just used Concordes with a new engine, and avionics, and structural materials, and . . .

[whitney69]

“It can actually hole 2 more people laying on their back head to toe with room for 1 carry-on bag. /S”

That’s in the missile bay.

wy69

[whitney69]

“It can actually hole 2 more people laying on their back head to toe with room for 1 carry-on bag. /S”

That’s in the missile bay.

wy69

[Deplorable American1776]

I’m not sure if I’d fly on a BOOM airplane...🤓

[SunTzuWu]

It’s not a prototype. It’s a technology demonstrator and proof of concept.