It could travel from London to New York in three and a half hours.
A supersonic jet modelled on the Concorde has just reached a brand new speed record.
XB-1 – engineered by a company called BOOM Supersonic and nicknamed ‘Son of Concorde’ – has been undergoing tests since March, with its ninth test taking place last week.
On 13 December, a new maximum speed of Mach 0.87 – the equivalent to 667mph – was reached. ‘Son of Concorde’ also achieved a new record height too, climbing 27,716 ft.
BOOM Supersonic’s mission is to ring back the glory days of supersonic travel but in a more affordable way.
Their dream is to slash flight times between London and New York to just 3.5 hours, and to pave the way for future commercial jets to have the ability to fly at the speed of sound – Mach 1.
While the speedy cross-Atlantic travel is likely still several years away, last week’s trial confirmed their hopes that the aircraft’s structure can handle higher speeds and varying altitudes safely.
“Flight nine focused on clearing flutter points at increased speeds and varying altitudes to ensure the aircraft structure continues to behave as predicted in the expanded flight envelope,” Boom Technology said in an update.
“This type of testing measures the interaction of the aircraft structure with the atmosphere it is flying through and is critical as XB-1 continues to reach higher speeds.”
Boom had been hoping to carry out its first supersonic flight later this year, but that is now likely to take place in early 2025.
The company recently released footage from their seventh test flight, which took place in early November.
In it, we get to see stunning views over Mojave Desert, California, where chief test pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg has been flying the jet over the last year, as well as a look behind the cockpit.
The Concorde was the first supersonic passenger-carrying luxury airplane. It became supersonic in 1969, flying passengers from New York to London in less than three hours.
In July 2000, a horror accident saw 113 people killed when an Air France Concorde ran over a small piece of metal while taking off from Charles de Gaulle Airport. It caused the tyre to explode and the engine to ignite.
A year after the horrific crash, 9/11 majorly affected passenger numbers. Ultimately a combination of these events led to its downfall.
By 2003, Air France and British Airways announced they would be retiring their fleet of Concorde planes.
While there’s still a way to go until BOOM’s ‘Son of Concorde’ starts welcoming passengers on board, it’s clear that the US-based firm are on the right track with their innovation and testing.
