Boom Supersonic has built its factory: will we see Overture in the skies by 2029?
When one thinks of airplanes and supersonic travel, two dates come to mind: January 21, 1976, a day in the [...]
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When one thinks of airplanes and supersonic travel, two dates come to mind: January 21, 1976, the day on which the Concorde - to date the first and only supersonic aircraft in commercial aviation--entered service, and on Oct. 24, 2003, when it was permanently retired, not only because of exorbitant operating costs but especially because of the disastrous accident in July 2000. These two dates, however, could be joined by a third: the 2029. Word of Boom Supersonic.
What is Boom
For those who have never heard of it, Boom is an American company founded in 2014 that is working to make usable again the Passenger flights made by supersonic aircraft. For the past 10 years Boom has been making quite a splash; it could only be otherwise since after Concorde no aircraft manufacturer had bet on this type of technology. To date, however, Boom has not made who knows how many steps forward: it has made only a single-seat prototype.
When will the "new Concorde" fly?
So why is it pointing to 2029? Partly because of a marketing issue, partly because of the fact that the Overture Superfactory, in North Carolina. Boom's new factory will house not only the final assembly line and testing facilities for the Overture-the name of the 'Concorde 2.0'-but will also be the place where customers can pick up the new supersonic aircraft. According to the company's forecasts, 33 aircraft will be produced each year; production will, then, be doubled when another factory is built.
Possible customers
Speaking of customers, mentioned earlier: which companies are interested in Overture? Quite a few, judging by the pre-orders (about 130 so far); among them we find American Airlines, United Airlines e Japan Airlines.
In conclusion
Is it, then, realistic that in just over 5 years the Boom Overture will enter service? Probably not. Just think of the 777x case: it was "only" supposed to be an upgrade of an existing aircraft, yet it has been more than 10 years since its introduction and it still has not begun to fly.
In short, perhaps it is imprudent to talk about dates: the project is, in fact, still in its infancy. It will, however, be interesting to hear from Boom executives at the Farnborough International Airshow of this year. The only date to mark on the calendar is July 23. For now.
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