At the Farnborough International Airshow in the U.K., Boom unveiled Overture’s flight deck, built around technology from partner Honeywell, and predicted it will have a full-scale engine core operational by 2025. The company also announced Tuesday it secured a Symphony assembly and testing facility through an expansion of its existing partnership with StandardAero.

Boom aims to fly Overture in 2026 ahead of a planned 2029 commercial rollout with airlines worldwide. A supersonic demonstrator aircraft, the XB-1, completed its maiden voyage in March.

Overture’s state-of-the-art flight deck runs on Honeywell’s Anthem avionics suite, which is also the system of choice for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturers Lilium and Vertical Aerospace.

According to Boom, it will be the first airliner to feature force-feedback sidesticks, which give pilots a physical response to the aircraft’s movement as well as inputs made by the copilot or autopilot.

Like something out of a science fiction film, Overture pilots will don augmented reality goggles during takeoff and landing. The headset, built by Universal Avionics, uses multiple cameras and sensors to fill any gaps in the pilot’s vision. Boom says this is intended to eliminate the droop nose configuration seen on aircraft such as Concorde—the only successful supersonic airliner in history. The views seen through the goggles will also appear on the flight display, and an autolanding system will assist pilots on the way down.

Breakers and buttons are replaced by high-definition, 17-inch touchscreen displays, while some physical controls such as stick, throttle, and landing gear remain. However, Boom says all aircraft functions can be accessed through software, which will receive routine over-the-air upgrades.

Already, the new flight deck has been tested by real-world airline, business, and military pilots, including Mike Bannister, the former chief Concorde pilot for British Airways. In a recent evaluation, commercial airline pilots cruised over the Atlantic Ocean at supersonic speed before flying into London Heathrow Airport (EGLL).

“After experiencing Overture’s flight deck, which is incredibly well designed and delightful to fly, my excitement and enthusiasm for this aircraft has only intensified,” said Bannister, who now works as an aviation consultant.

Separately, Boom gave several updates on the progress of its Symphony engine program, most notably that it expects to have a full-scale engine core operational within 18 months despite unveiling the program less than two years ago.

The company will collect data on the core via testing, which will inform the development of other components such as the compressor and turbine section. Those parts will come from newly announced partner ATI Inc.

Fuel nozzles and other 3D-printed parts have already been produced, and Boom has begun testing certain hardware components. It plans to conduct more than 30 engine hardware rig tests with partner Florida Turbine Technologies (FTT), which helped design the technology.

“We are on schedule as we pursue critical component rigs for compressors, combustors, and bearings and are developing a ‘Sprint Core’ engine demonstrator that will provide valuable confirmation of engine component performance prior to finalizing the engine design,” said Stacey Rock, president of turbine technologies for FTT owner Kratos.

Symphony engines will be built and tested at a StandardAero facility in San Antonio, which Boom projects will one day include 100,000 feet of manufacturing space. The company plans for its partner to produce as many as 330 engines per year.

“We are excited to expand our role to include the assembly and testing of Symphony engines, further supporting the development of next-generation flight with Boom,” said Russell Ford, CEO and chairman of StandardAero.

Next up for Boom will be the second test flight of the XB-1, a smaller, less powerful version of Overture.

The company’s flagship model is intended to carry 64-80 passengers at Mach 1.7—just over 1,300 mph, twice the speed of subsonic airliners—while cruising at 60,000 feet.

Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom, previously told The New York Times that the company’s goal is to fly passengers anywhere in the world within four hours for just $100. Concorde, for comparison, flew at Mach 2.0 and cost passengers thousands of dollars per trip. 

Unlike Concorde, though, Overture can run on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel. The aircraft will only fly at supersonic speeds over water, since the FAA has banned those flights over land.

So far, Boom has racked up more than 130 orders and preorders for Overture, including from United, American, and Japan Airlines.

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The post Boom Unveils Supersonic Overture Flight Deck appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“Our goal is to bring the world closer together through faster flights,” said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic. “We’re excited to collaborate with partners and investors around the globe as we work to realize our shared vision.”

• READ MORE: American Airlines Inks Deal for 20 Boom Supersonic Overture Aircraft

Boom’s investors include the Neom Investment Fund, an investment arm of Neom, a sustainable urban development planned in northwest Saudi Arabia. As part of their agreement, Boom and the Neom Investment Fund will explore ways to make the Gulf region more accessible through supersonic flight.

Boom also said it remains on track to conduct the first flight of the XB-1 later this year at the Mojave Air & Space Port. The aircraft received an airworthiness certificate from the FAA and recently completed a number of tests, including taxi testing up to 90 knots. Boom said the aircraft will soon make high-speed taxi runs in preparation for its first flight.  

• READ MORE: Boom Supersonic Picks Greensboro, North Carolina, for its ‘Superfactory’

The company said its Symphony propulsion system, designed for sustainable and economical supersonic flight, has undergone a conceptual design review that “paves the way toward Symphony’s first hardware rig tests planned for 2024.” Construction of the factory designed to build the Overture is also proceeding ahead of schedule, Boom said, with completion expected during the second quarter of 2024.

The post Boom Supersonic Announces Milestones Including Taxi-Testing Its XB-1 Demonstrator Aircraft appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The announcement was made on Tuesday at the Paris Air Show, along with several updates on the airframe and engine development as well as manufacturing and testing plans. The final product—the Overture—is projected to fly at Mach 1.75 in overwater cruise powered by bespoke Symphony engines running on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel.

Mainline Suppliers

Leonardo, based in Rome, will provide its expertise in composite structure development and manufacturing as engineering lead for the Overture’s fuselage structural components integration, and serve as a design and build partner for fuselage sections—including the wingbox. The cross section of the Overture has a larger diameter at its fore section growing smaller towards the rear of the airplane. The design is intended to “minimize wave-drag and maximize fuel efficiency at supersonic speeds,” according to a statement from the company.

Aernnova, in Madrid, a large tier-one aerospace supplier, has been chosen to design and develop the Overture’s gull-shaped wings, which are structurally thinner than typical subsonic wings. Their nature is intended to reduce drag and increase efficiency at high speeds.

Aciturri, based in Miranda de Ebro, Spain, and another major tier 1 supplier, has been selected to provide the empennage to the Overture. A horizontal stabilizer that allows for greater control at subsonic speeds, including takeoff landing, is a key element to the tail design.

Symphony Engine Milestones

Florida Turbine Technologies (FTT) of Doral is the main partner on Boom’s proprietary engine, named the Symphony, and it continues to move forward in the two-spool, medium-bypass turbofan’s development. Scholl gave details on the powerplant’s specs along with teasing photos of the cross section that include the aforementioned optimization to run on 100 percent SAF. “Symphony features a high-specific-flow fan,” said Scholl, “which allows us to reduce the frontal area of the engine, which reduces supersonic drag.” Other details include:

• 35,000-pound thrust
• single-stage 72-inch fan
• air-cooled, multi-stage turbine
• FAA Part 33 and EASA CS 33 compliant
• adherence to ICAO Chapter 14 noise levels

Use of additive manufacturing will enable lightweight composition, low parts count, and reduced assembly costs. The engine features three low-pressure compressor stages, six high-pressure compressor stages, three low-pressure turbine stages, and a single high-pressure turbine stage. Former Rolls-Royce CTO and Singapore Aerospace programme chair Ric Parker serves as lead on the engine program, which has been under the magnifying glass when it moved away from former engine partner Rolls-Royce and went with a trio of new collaborators: FTT, GE Additive, and Standard Aero. Scholl spoke to this tangentially, stating that the need for a bespoke engine “specifically optimized for sustained supersonic flight and sustainable supersonic portions of that.” The vertical integration strategy is key to achieving this.

• READ MORE: Boom to Lead New Powerplant Design for Supersonic Jet

Manufacturing of the engines at scale will take place at FTT’s facility in Jupiter, Florida, Scholl revealed at the press conference. He also updated on progress of the company’s “iron bird” testing facility at its headquarters on the Centennial Airport (KAPA) on the south side of the Denver metro area in Colorado. 

“This is the integrated test facility, where we will be able to put all of the systems hardware through exhaustive testing, with software and hardware in the loop, with thousands of simulated first flights before Overture makes its maiden voyage,” said Scholl. Flight controls, electrical power, and landing gear will all be operable in the iron bird facility.

Fuel System as CG Control

One of the unique aspects of the Overture includes systems architecture updated upon during the press conference by Scholl. While avionics, flight controls, hydraulics, and gear systems were touched upon—and will meet FAA and EASA Part 25 regs—he offered a bit of insight on the fuel system, which will be used to provide center of gravity (CG) control during both sub- and supersonic operations.

The all-composite makeup of Overture enables the use of complex aerostructures to create the contoured fuselage and gull-wing planform. Overall, the use of already certified technologies have been chosen thus far to reduce the risk on the program, as it breaks ground in significant ways in commercial passenger service.

The program remains on track in its 10-year development cycle—where it stands 3.5 years in—for a planned type certification in 2029.

The post Boom Aerospace Delivers Update on Supersonic Model appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Boom said it is leading the collaborative effort in developing the new supersonic engine—dubbed Symphony— alongside Florida Turbine Technologies (FTT) for engine design, GE Additive for additive technology design consulting, and StandardAero for maintenance for Symphony.

The announcement comes three months after engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce exited its contract with the commercial airline manufacturer, prompting Boom to look to other engine manufacturers with supersonic propulsion programs. At the time, Rolls-Royce said commercial supersonic flight was no longer a short-term priority for the company.

• READ MORE: Rolls-Royce Will No Longer Power Boom’s Supersonic Airliner

Company officials, however, then decided the solution was to design the aircraft and engine together.

“Developing a supersonic engine specifically for Overture offers by far the best value proposition for our customers,” said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic,

The announcement comes at a pivotal point of development for Boom following Rolls-Royce’s exit. The first Overture aircraft—expected to fly as fast as Mach 1.7, as high as 60,000 feet msl, and carry between 65 to 88 passengers—was scheduled to roll out in 2025 and begin commercial service with passengers by 2029.

Now, with Symphony, Boom said that design is already underway and that Overture is expected to achieve type certification in 2029. The company will build Overture at the Overture Superfactory in Greensboro, North Carolina, with ground testing to begin in 2026 and flight test in 2027.

• READ MORE: How North Carolina Got Boom’s Overture ‘Superfactory’

“Through the Symphony program, we can provide our customers with an economically and environmentally sustainable supersonic airplane—a combination unattainable with the current constraints of derivative engines and industry norms,” Scholl said.

A Boom-Led Partnership

FTT, a Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc business unit, will lead the engine design portion. Boom indicated that it would leverage FTT’s “supersonic engine design expertise,” notably because FTT’s workforce, including engineers involved in the “designing the F-119 and F-135 supersonic engines that power the F-22 and F-35,” Boom said.

“The team at FTT has a decades-long history of developing innovative, high-performance propulsion solutions,” FTT President Stacey Rock said. “We are proud to team with Boom and its Symphony partners and look forward to developing the first bespoke engine for sustainable, economical supersonic flight.”

• READ MORE: American Airlines Inks Deal for 20 Boom Supersonic Overture Aircraft

Boom has also tapped GE Additive for additive manufacturing design consulting. Boom said the partnership would enable more streamlined development, reduced weight, and improved fuel efficiency.

“GE Additive will bring industry-leading capabilities to Symphony, providing additive manufacturing design consulting and technology while looking for additional areas to potentially collaborate,” Chris Schuppe, general manager of engineering and technology at GE Additive, said in a statement.

Looking ahead to maintenance, Boom selected StandardAero in order to deliver “reliable and economical operations and provision of maintenance services for the life of the aircraft,” it said.

StandardAero also has experience as a supersonic engine assembler.

“Our current qualifications, capabilities, and experience assembling and servicing supersonic military jet engines make us the intelligent solution for future commercial supersonic engine MRO applications,” said Russell Ford, chairman, and CEO of StandardAero.

• READ MORE: Curious About Boom Supersonic? Here Are Five Things to Know

Here’s What to Know About Symphony

According to Boom, the powerplant will be a medium-bypass turbofan engine, similar to powerplants on current commercial aircraft. However, unlike subsonic turbofans, Boom said its Symphony would feature a Boom-designed axisymmetric supersonic intake, a variable-geometry, low-noise exhaust nozzle, and a passively cooled high-pressure turbine. It won’t have an afterburner. 

Boom said the powerplant would produce 35,000 lbs of thrust on takeoff and would run on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel. To keep things quiet and meet Chapter 14 noise level requirements, Symphony will be designed with a single-stage fan. The process will include additive manufacturing to keep its weight and parts count low and reduce assembly costs. Finally, it will need to meet FAA and EASA Part 33 engine certification requirements.

Boom said it expects Symphony to reduce airplane operating costs for airline customers by 10 percent compared to other derivative powerplants.

The post Boom to Lead New Powerplant Design for Supersonic Jet appeared first on FLYING Magazine.