Till today, supersonic jet era remains terminated but the era is about to return with bang after Boom Technology based on US with slogan ‘Time Saved is Life Gained’ unveiled a design for a 55-seat jet that can fly at Mach 2.2, which means a Dubai to London flight would take only 4 and half hours and London to New York flight would only take 3 hours and 15 minutes at 60,000 ft. At that height, each of the 55 passengers would be able to view the curvature of the earth from window seats split either side of the aisle.
The founder of Boom, Blake Scholl, announced a project update of the aircraft, called Boom, at the second day of the Dubai Airshow.
The company till today generated over $33 million funding which is enough for building their prototype ‘Baby Boom XB-1’. Boom’s supersonic jet is a breakthrough aerodynamic design, state-of-the-art engine technology and made with advanced composite materials. Scholl said that the pilot test of the plane, the XB-1, will be carried out next year and the regular flights will come into service by mid 2020s.
Boom says, “Leave New York at 6 am, make afternoon and dinner meetings in London, and be home to tuck your kids into bed.” Their supersonic jet will fly at a speed of Mach 2.2 (1466.83 knots) cruising at an altitude of 60,000 ft.
It is expected that the supersonic jet developed by Boom will shake houses and produce cracks in windows however; the company is claiming that their jet will be as quiet as the regular aircraft.
The company is currently in the stage of its site selection process for the production of its Mach-2.2 airliner. The base of its manufacturing will be in the US, to keep it close to the engineers. The other site selections could be anywhere in the world.
If everything goes well, the Boom could initiate high-speed intercontinental flights in 2020. The company has allocated $2,500 for each way of London to New York travel.
Supersonic passenger jet has existed over 50 years but could not prove to be efficient enough to continue operation. Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde, British-French turbojet-powered supersonic passenger jet, flew for last time in October 24, 2003 ending the era of supersonic air travel. The Concorde entered commercial service in 1976 and the first round-the-world flight by a BA Concorde took place on November 8, 1986. The aircraft covered 28,238 miles in 29 hours 59 minutes.
July 25, 2000 was the black day for Concorde as Air France flight 4590 departing from Paris ran over a piece of titanium that had fallen from another aircraft. It burst the tire and resulted in the fuel tank igniting. The plane crashed killing all on board.
