The XB-1 prototype of Overture's future supersonic passenger airliner was able to reach a speed of 851 km/h at an altitude of 5425 meters.
The American company Boom Technology conducted the fifth test of the supersonic aircraft XB-1, which is a reduced prototype of the future passenger supersonic airliner Overture, which will be able to deliver passengers from Europe to America in just a few hours. At the same time, the plane will be able to reduce flight time by at least 2 times on routes around the world, he writes Interesting Engineering.
Now the flight time, for example, from Amsterdam to New York, on a regular passenger airliner is just over 8 hours. The future Overture supersonic passenger plane, developed by the Boom Technology company, will be able to cut the flight time at least in half.
The company claims that this supersonic aircraft can revolutionize air transportation. It will be able to accommodate 60 to 80 passengers on board and reach a speed of up to 2100 km/h, which is almost 2 times faster than the speed of sound. Thus, with the help of this aircraft, it will be possible to significantly reduce not only the flight time from Europe to America and back, but also the flight time on more than 600 routes around the world.
Air passenger transportation ended in 2003, when the famous Concorde supersonic aircraft took its last flight. Since then, only ordinary planes that do not reach the speed of sound (1234 km/h) are used for air transportation.
In order to create the Overture supersonic airliner, Boom Technology built a scaled-down prototype called the XB-1 and successfully conducted the fifth test of the aircraft. The test took place in California, the flight lasted 50 minutes and the XB-1 aircraft, being at an altitude of 5425 meters, was able to set a new speed record. He flew at a speed of 851 km/h. This flight demonstrated the aircraft's growing capabilities, and new data will be used by engineers to make further improvements, which makes the creation of the Overture even closer in time.
With each successful flight, the XB-1's speed and altitude gradually increase, allowing engineers to collect and analyze critical data. Boom Technology plans to conduct five more test flights before the XB-1 reaches supersonic speeds.