Boom Supersonic: The world's fastest plane

DUBAI: The world’s futuristic fastest
plane is about to descend in major
airports across the world with the
prototype scheduled to be tested as
early as next year, according to its
maker Boom.

The start-up company mainly financed
by Silicon Valley venture capitalists
managed to raise as much as $41 million
in its initial phase, says Boom Founder
and CEO Blake Scholl. His venture is
envisioned to become a game-changer
in the aviation industry.

In a press briefing held at Dubai Future
Foundation premises, Scholl said the
supersonic passenger plane is faster
than the French-British 1960 joint
venture Concorde with a 2.2 Mach
speed.

Scholl said Supersonic commercial
aircraft will connect the GCC to the rest
of the world with flights up to 2.6X
faster than conventional airliners. For
example, a flight from Dubai to Sydney
which takes 14:51 today, will take just
8:17 flying supersonic. In the same
fashion, Dubai to New York will be 7
hours and 35 minutes versus 14 hours
today.

“Compared to Concorde, designed in
the 1960s, Boom will be 80% less
expensive to operate—leading to
affordable tickets for passengers and
profit opportunities for airlines. Key
technologies for supersonic include
carbon fiber composites, advanced
aerodynamics, and modern turbofan jet
engines. These technologies combine
to enable an airplane faster than
Concorde, yet quiet, efficient, and
comfortable for passengers,” said Scholl
who is from Denver, Colorado.
Scholl’s visit to Dubai was at the
invitation of the UAE government but he
declined to say if any of the major
airlines in the country had made orders
for the supersonic commercial plane.
He did disclose, however, that Virgin
Atlantic had already placed orders
worth $5 billion.

“We are delighted to bring Boom to the
UAE. UAE airlines already lead the
world in travel experience, and the
country is embracing other innovative
transportation technologies, such as
Hyperloop and drone taxis,” said Scholl.
“Supersonic flight will enhance UAE’s
status as the world’s preeminent
aviation hub, giving travellers more of
the luxury they value most: time.”
The Boom airliner seats up to 55
passengers in comfort and privacy with
p a s s e n g e r s e x p e r i e n c i n g l e s s
turbulence than old models.

T h e B o o m ‘ s X B – 1 S u p e r s o n i c
Demonstrator, a ⅓ scale prototype
aircraft, is under construction now and
will fly in 2018. Passenger flights will
begin in the early 2020s.

The XB-1 Supersonic Demonstrator will
fly with hardware from General Electric
(engines), Honeywell (avionics),
Tencate (carbon fiber), with composite
structures fabricated by Blue Force.
Final assembly and vehicle integration
are taking place in Boom’s facility at
Centennial Airport near Denver,
Colorado.

Design Specifications: Boom
Passenger Airliner