Progress for the Boom Overture, potential American successor to the Concorde
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This is news that will not delight environmentalists. Nineteen years after the last flight of Concorde, in October 2003, the deceased supersonic could finally have heirs. After United Airlines in 2021, it is the turn of another airline from across the Atlantic, American Airlines, to take options for the future supersonic aircraft developed by the young aircraft manufacturer Boom Supersonic, based in Denver (Colorado), in the USA.
The airline has shown its interest by ordering twenty copies of the Boom Overture, to which are added forty as an option. A year ago, United Airlines had signed for fifteen copies of the supersonic. For once, American Airlines would have paid a “non-refundable deposit” at Boom Supersonic. A sum which shows the company’s interest in this aircraft and which also aims to help the manufacturer finalize its project.
American Airlines, like its rival United Airlines, seems to truly believe in a revival of this type of aircraft. Derek Kerr, its chief financial officer, was very optimistic: “Looking forward, supersonic travel will be an important part of our ability to meet customer expectations. » With such an aircraft, the company plans to serve Florida from London in less than five hours, and reach Hawaii from Los Angeles in three hours. In half the time of a current airliner.
Redesigned design
The Boom Overture, if it sees the light of day, will always have to deal with the constraints that frame the evolution of this type of aircraft. Like the ban on supersonic flights over land. He will also have to obtain certification from the aviation authorities, and obtain authorization to fly at an altitude of 18 kilometers, well beyond the limit, set today at 13 kilometers for a commercial jet aircraft.
To ward off criticism from environmentalists, the automaker said the Overture would only burn sustainable fuel
It was in 2017, at the Paris Air Show, that Boom Supersonic presented its concept of supersonic aircraft, a potential successor to Concorde. However, the project then evolved a lot. At the time, Boom Overture was equipped with only three engines, to transport 65 to 80 passengers at Mach 1.7 (2,100 km/h) over the ocean. On the occasion of the Farnborough Airshow, organized in July in the greater London suburbs, Boom Supersonic unveiled a concept with a redesigned design with four engines which will have to fly twice as fast as the fastest commercial aircraft, with a range of 4,250 nautical miles, or 7,871 kilometres.
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