Boom XB-1

Terry

The XB-1 jet, the company’s prototype, was designed to bring back supersonic travel in a more efficient and accessible way, aiming to halve flight time from the traditional eight hours to just 3.5 hours.

After starting its tests in March 2024, the XB-1 reached a record speed of Mach 0.87 and reaching 27,716 feet of altitude during its ninth test flight.

Modifications to the vibration system made after the previous flight helped make the jet’s progress safer and more efficient.

The test pilot is Tristan Brandenburg.

After years of testing and refinement, a pilot flying the aerospace company’s XB-1 scale prototype finally broke the sound barrier during a livestream event—not once, not twice, but three times.
XB-1 took off from the runway at Mojave Air & Space Port near Barstow, California at about 11:21 AM EST. From there, Boom Supersonic’s Chief Test Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg ascended in the experimental plane to an altitude of 34,000 ft before turning left and beginning its supersonic test. After successfully achieving Mach 1.1 at 11:32 PM EST, Brandenburg continued XB-1 on its deceleration and descent path. At one point, however, XB-1 briefly broke the sound barrier once again.

XB-1 reached max dynamic pressure during final handling checks during its 10th test flight

“Alright, knock it off, knock it off,” someone in Boom Supersonic’s flight control room could be heard joking during the livestream.

XB-1 surpassed Mach 1 yet again a few minutes later before landing 11:54 PM EST after a total flight time of 33.49 minutes.
Tuesday’s success comes less than a year after the demonstrator aircraft’s debut flight on March 22, 2024. The XB-1 conducted another 10 flights prior to today’s Mach 1 breakthrough. Its most recent took place on January 10, when Brandenburg topped out at Mach 0.95 at an altitude of 29,481 ft (575 knots true airspeed, or roughly 661 mph).
At almost 63-feet-long, the XB-1 is about one-third the size of Overture, Boom Supersonic’s proposed commercial jet.
XB-1’s first flight was originally scheduled for 2021, but required pushbacks to address various engineering and design concerns.

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