Overture Passenger Airliner Demonstrator Makes Second and Final Supersonic Flight
On February 10, the American company Boom Supersonic conducted the 13th test flight of the supersonic aircraft XB-1, during which the aircraft reached supersonic speed for the second time in a row. This flight was the final one in the XB-1 test program.
Flight testing of the XB-1 began in March 2024, and the aircraft broke the sound barrier for the first time in January 2025. The developer gradually increased the load on the aircraft, evaluating the effect of aerodynamics on its design. The flight on February 10 was the second in which the XB-1 broke Mach 1. This time, microphones were installed on the ground to record the noise when breaking the sound barrier. None of the microphones recorded a sonic boom, despite the fact that the XB-1 broke the sound barrier three times.
“We broke the sound barrier not once, not twice, but three times — and each time without an audible sonic boom,” said Boom CEO Blake Scholl. “It’s about how you fly the airplane.”
Overture will fly at Mach 1.7, which will almost halve the flight time, which is especially important for long-haul routes. The XB-1 prototype has already proven its ability to fly in “silent” mode even when breaking the sound barrier. The passenger Overture will inherit these technologies.
The creators of Overture expect that using this phenomenon will allow the airliner to fly 1.5 times faster over land and 2 times faster over sea than is permitted by current regulations.
