The Return Of Civil High-Speed Flight

August 24, 2022

Boom's subscale XB-1 supersonic demonstrator revealed in October 2020

Credit: Boom Supersonic

Credit: Boom Supersonic - Boom Supersonic founder Blake Scholl describes the Oct. 7 2020 rollout of the company’s sleek XB-1 demonstrator as “a little surreal.” Since creating Boom in 2014 to bring back supersonic civil flight, Scholl’s ambitious plan has been derided as crazy by some and unrealistic by others. This completed aircraft, we reported at the time, was set to begin ground tests in the coming weeks and design work transitioning to the follow-on Overture airliner. Boom’s vision is gaining ground and—just as important—credibility. One-third-scale XB-1 ready to begin ground tests Formal launch of Overture airliner set for 2022 Although the 71-ft.-long, delta-wing XB-1 trijet looks to have more in common with a high-speed fighter than an airliner, the completed demonstrator has already proven to Boom’s backers that it has the design and manufacturing capability to produce the first privately developed air-breathing civil supersonic aircraft.

Boom Overture supersonic airliner unveiled at Farnborough 2022

Boom’s Overture is a Mach 1.7, 65-88-seat supersonic airliner that could begin carrying passengers in 2029. Using lessons learned from a subscale XB-1 supersonic demonstrator that was revealed in October 2020. The Denver-based company unveiled this model of its Overture program in 2022. Production will commence shortly after with roll out of the prototype in 2025. Flight tests are due to be underway in 2026 with entry-into-service slated by 2029. Flight tests of the company’s one-third scale supersonic demonstrator, XB-1, are meanwhile expected to begin in Mojave, California, by early 2022. The program received a major boost in 2021 when United Airlines placed firm orders for 15 aircraft with options on a further 35.

Hermeus

Credit: Hermeus

Civil hypersonic-aircraft startup developer Hermeus is working with the U.S. Air Force to evaluate how the Atlanta-based company’s Mach 5 concept could be modified into a high-speed executive vehicle, including potentially a presidential transport. Powered by a turbine-based combined-cycle engine, the Hermeus concept vehicle is configured to carry up to 20 passengers over transatlantic ranges. Entry into service is targeted for the end of the decade. The company, which is also working with NASA, won a $60 million Air Force contract in August 2021 to develop and test three single-engine sub-scale flight demonstrators by 2024.

NASA: X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology aircraft

Credit: Lockheed Martin

In 2016, NASA entered into an agreement for the design of a modern low-noise SST prototype. The first in a series of ‘X-planes’ included in NASA's New Aviation Horizons initiative, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics was tasked with overseeing the preliminary design for Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST). Called the Lockheed Martin X-59 QueSST, the low-boom demonstrator aircraft is scheduled for delivery in late 2021 for flight tests taking place from 2022.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA): Sky Frontier Program

Credit: JAXA

In 2005, under the NEXST-1 program, JAXA flight-tested a subscale model of a fuel-efficient supersonic aircraft in Woomera, Australia, demonstrating 13% lower supersonic cruise drag than the Concorde. 10 years later in 2015, JAXA flight-tested a subscale model of a low-boom supersonic airliner at the Esrange Space Center in Sweden under the D-SEND project. The agency is now planning the flight demonstration of a robust, low-boom design that can reduce sonic boom over a wide operating range.

Spike Aerospace: S-512

Credit: Spike Aerospace

Spike’s S-512 has two features it considers critical to market success: 18-passenger seats and low sonic boom. The company is aiming for a boom strength at the aircraft’s Mach 1.6 cruise speed of less than 75 PLdB—NASA’s target for public acceptance of supersonic flights over land. Aiming for service entry in 2028, Spike is looking at lucrative transcontinental business routes, especially in Asia, where supersonic overland flight is essential.

Lingkong Tianxing

Credit: Space Transportation

China-based start-up Lingkong Tianxing has announced plans to develop a family of hypersonic vehicles ranging from a sub-orbital space tourism spaceplane to an inter-continental passenger transport vehicle. Based on technology developed and tested from 2019 onward, the company’s initial goal is to begin flight tests of a sub-orbital spaceplane prototype in 2023. The company, which recently announced a financing round of 300 million yuan from Chinese investors, hopes to conduct the first manned test flight of its suborbital space tourism vehicle in 2025. A follow-on scaled version of a planned global hypersonic transport aircraft is targeted for first flight in 2028, with flights of the full-scale vehicle scheduled for 2030.

Exosonic

U.S. startup Exosonic aims to develop the world’s first low boom, 5000-nautical mile range, quiet supersonic passenger airliner using shaped sonic boom technology. The company has completed low-speed wind tunnel tests of its 70-seat concept in the University of Washington’s Kirsten Wind Tunnel in Seattle. The 8-ft. model was tested at speeds up to 150 mph to evaluate takeoff and landing performance, and paves the way for follow-on evaluations for both commercial and potential military transport roles.

Virgin Galactic

Credit: Virgin Galactic

In 2020 sub-orbital space tourism company Virgin Galactic announced long term plans to develop a high speed twin-engine, delta-wing aircraft seating up to 19 and capable of cruising at Mach 3 at altitudes above 60,000 ft. Until now little has been released about the project which also involves NASA. Under a Space Act Agreement with Virgin and its subsidiary The Spaceship Company, NASA is working collaboratively to help foster technology for high Mach-capable vehicles. Research work with NASA has included collaboration on vehicle thermal management and propulsion systems in the Mach 3 -5 regime.

Reaction Engines' Hypersonic Air Vehicle Experimental (HVX) program

High-speed propulsion developer, Reaction Engines unveiled the Hypersonic Air Vehicle Experimental (HVX) program at Farnborough 2022. It is an experimental hypersonic test vehicle for the UK Royal Air Force from Reaction Engines and Rolls-Royce. It is ambitiously planning to test reusable Mach 5-plus vehicle technology for the RAF. Targeting an hypersonic aircraft capability similar to that seen in the blockbuster movie Top Gun Maverick, the program ultimately aims to flight test a combined cycle propulsion system incorporating Reaction's pre-cooler with a turbine engine at an operationally representative scale. The concept model is reminiscent of the D-21 drone carried by the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird and represents Reaction's first step towards hypersonic flight and a potential new UK defense capability. Credit: Mark Wagner/Aviation-Images

Supersonic travel could soon be back in vogue. American Airlines announced plans, in mid-August, to acquire up to 60 Boom Supersonic Overture airliners, overtaking United Airlines as the biggest customer yet for the in-development Mach 1.7 transport.

In 2003 supersonic passenger flights ended with the retirement of Concorde and following that, industry consensus had been that business aviation and its demand for higher speed would lead a civil supersonic transport revival.

Then the long-running Aerion supersonic business jet project in 2021 ended and with it airline interest growing in high-speed transports. But supersonic travel and the desire for it has never dulled. The next challenge was how to make it more sustainable.

Boom’s ambitious schedule envisages rollout of the prototype Overture in 2025 and introduction of the first civil supersonic services on transatlantic and transpacific routes around 2029. The Overture will be designed to cruise at Mach 1.7 and carry up to 80 passengers on routes up to 4,250 nm using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), while simultaneously meeting stringent ICAO Chapter 14/FAA Stage 5 take-off and landing noise limits.

Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl told Aviation Week, that in terms of overall order totals, the Overture can now be ranked ahead of the Anglo-French Concorde, Scholl adds. “Only 14 [Concordes] ever entered service and they were basically given away. American and United have committed capital to this and both have made deposits—so your 35 aircraft eclipses Concorde by more than double.

Here’s a look at some of the on-going programs.

In the pursuit of hypersonic technologies, programs pushing the laws of physics continue to evolve at a rapid pace. Stay up-to-date with critical insights and analysis on where the technology is and where it’s going with a personal subscription from the experts trusted by the industry. Step inside Aviation Week & Space Technology and the quest for speed.

Comments

3 Comments

gwroble

Thu, 02/03/2022 - 15:49

Has "Zoom" made "Boom" redundant? Do business people actually need to fly supersonically in order to get business done? What is the projected market for supersonic transports? Surely, like UAM, there are far more entrants than the market can possibly ultimately support.

thecomputercabin

Sat, 02/05/2022 - 00:27

In the business world where first impressions are ultimately the deciding factor, what a better way than to have your CEO or President shake hands physically with your probable next partner after having flown for just over 2 hours and halfway round the world? Would be a "wow" factor for me ...

chgessner

Thu, 08/25/2022 - 12:24

Pushing water uphill. The world is trying to reduce air travel as part of the effort to combat climate change. Will a low capacity high energy per seat aircraft be welcomed into this environment?

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