Boom Technology

Boom Technology, Inc. (trade name Boom Supersonic) is an American company designing a Mach 1.7 (1,000 kn; 1,800 km/h), 65-88-passenger supersonic airliner. Named the Boom Overture, the airliner has a planned range of 4,250 nmi (7,870 km) and introduction in 2029. The Boom XB-1 Baby Boom one-third-scale demonstrator first test flight was planned for September 2022 but then delayed until around mid-2023.[2]

Boom Technology, Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryAerospace industry
Founded2014 (2014)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
FoundersBlake Scholl
Joe Wilding
Josh Krall
HeadquartersCentennial Airport, Dove Valley, Colorado
Key people
  • Blake Scholl (CEO)
  • Joe Wilding (Chief Engineer)
  • Josh Krall (CTO)
ProductsSupersonic aircraft design
Number of employees
150[1]
Websiteboomsupersonic.com

After incubation by Y Combinator in 2016, Boom Technology raised $51 million venture capital in 2017, and an additional $100 million by January 2019.

History

The company was founded in Denver in 2014.[3] It participated in a Y Combinator startup incubation program in early 2016, and has been funded by Y Combinator, Sam Altman, Seraph Group, Eight Partners, and others.[4]

In March 2017, $33 million were invested by several venture funds: Continuity Fund, RRE Ventures, Palm Drive Ventures, 8VC and Caffeinated Capital.[5] Boom secured $41 million of total financing by April 2017.[6] In December 2017, Japan Airlines invested $10 million, raising the company capital to $51 million: enough to build the XB-1 “Baby Boom” demonstrator and complete its testing, and to start early design work on the 55-seat airliner.[5] In January 2019, Boom raised a further $100 million, bringing the total to $151 million, then planning the demonstrator first flight for later in 2019.[7][8]

In January 2022, the company announced plans to build a 400,000 square feet (37,161 m2) manufacturing facility on a 65 acres (263,046 m2) site at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina.[9]

Projects

XB-1 Baby Boom
Main article: Boom XB-1

The XB-1 Baby Boom is a one-third-scale supersonic demonstrator, designed to maintain Mach 2.2, with over 1,000 nmi (1,900 km) of range, and powered by three 4,300 lbf (19 kN) dry General Electric J85-15s.[10] It was rolled out in October 2020.[11][12] By 2021, it was expected to be flight tested in 2022[13] but delays pushed the expected first flight to mid-2023.[2]

Overture airliner
Main article: Boom Overture

The Overture is a proposed Mach 1.7 (1,000 kn; 1,800 km/h), 65- to 88-passenger supersonic transport with envisaged 4,250 nmi (7,870 km) of range.[14] With 500 viable routes, Boom suggests there could be a market for 1,000 supersonic airliners with business class fares.[6] It had gathered 76 commitments by December 2017.[5] It decided to use the delta wing configuration of Concorde[15] and make use of composite materials.[5] It is to be powered by three 15,000–20,000 lbf (67–89 kN) dry turbofan engines.[5] A derivative or a clean-sheet design was to be selected in 2019.[16]

In September 2020, the company announced that it had been contracted to develop the Overture for possible use as Air Force One.[17] Boom CEO Blake Scholl "estimates that flights on Overture will be available in 2030."[18]

In January 2021, Boom announced plans to begin Overture test flights in 2026.[19] In June 2021, United Airlines announced that it had signed a deal to purchase 15 Boom Overture aircraft, with an option to buy 35 more. They are scheduled to begin operating in 2029.[20][21]

On August 16, 2022, Boom announced that American Airlines had agreed to purchase 20 Boom Overture aircraft.[22]

Symphony engine
Main article: Boom Symphony

In December 2022, Boom announced the Symphony, a new propulsion system to be designed for the Overture. Boom will work with three companies to develop Symphony: Florida Turbine Technologies for engine design, GE Additive for additive technology design consulting, and StandardAero for maintenance.[23][24]

See also

References
  1. "Boom Supersonic". www.owler.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-02. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  2. Scholl, Blake (February 23, 2023). "How I Built This -Transcript" (Podcast). Event occurs at 29:06. Retrieved March 11, 2023. " We're going to take it down to the Mojave Desert for flight test probably around the middle of this year."
  3. Vance, Ashlee (21 March 2016). "This Aerospace Company Wants to Bring Supersonic Civilian Travel Back". Bloomberg.
  4. Kokalitcheva, Kia (23 March 2016). "This Startup Is Developing Supersonic Planes for Virgin Group". Fortune.
  5. Stephen Trimble (5 Dec 2017). "JAL invests heavily in supersonic Boom". Flightglobal.
  6. Aaron Karp (May 3, 2017). "Boom CEO sees market for 1,000 supersonic passenger jets by 2035". Air Transport World. Aviation Week.
  7. "Boom Supersonic Closes 100 Million Series B to Develop Overture, its Revolutionary Mach-2.2 Airliner" (PDF) (Press release). Boom Supersonic. 4 January 2019.
  8. Bogaisky, Jeremy (Jan 4, 2019). "Boom Raises $100M To Develop A Supersonic Airliner. It's Going To Need A Whole Lot More". Forbes.
  9. Niles, Russ (31 January 2022). "Boom Picks Greensboro For Factory". AVweb. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  10. Guy Norris (Jul 10, 2018). "Boom Focuses On Derivative Engines For Supersonic Airliner Plan". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  11. "Boom Supersonic to Roll Out Historic XB-1 Demonstrator Oct. 7" (PDF) (Press release). Boom Supersonic. Jul 8, 2020.
  12. "A revival of ultrafast supersonic passenger jet travel is inching closer to reality – take a look at the prototype debuting in October". Business Insider. Jul 11, 2020.
  13. Hemmerdinger, Jon (27 April 2021). "First flight of Boom's XB-1 demonstrator could happen next year". Flight Global.
  14. "Overture". Boom Supersonic. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  15. Bjorn Fehrm (November 17, 2016). "Will Boom succeed where Concorde failed?". Leeham News.
  16. Graham Warwick (January 23, 2019). "Boom Advances Overture Supersonic Airliner As Demonstrator Takes Shape". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  17. Cook, Marc (8 September 2020). "Boom Enters Supersonic Air Force One Race". AVweb. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  18. Hersey, Jon (October 7, 2020). "Reinventing Flight: An Interview with Blake Scholl". The Objective Standard. Vol. 15, no. 4. Glen Allen Press. p. 9.
  19. Michael Verdon (January 14, 2021). "Supersonic Aircraft Can Now Be Tested Over Land, FAA Rules". Robb Report.
  20. Fox, Chris (June 5, 2021). "United plans supersonic passenger flights by 2029". BBC.
  21. Bachman, Justin (Jun 3, 2021). "United Bets on Supersonic Future With $3 Billion Boom Jet Order". Bloomberg.
  22. LeBeau, Phil (2022-08-16). "American Airlines agrees to buy 20 supersonic planes from Boom". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  23. "Boom Supersonic announces new developers for Overture engine". Globalair.com. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  24. Pegoraro, Rob (2022-12-13). "Boom Supersonic Finally Picks Engine Provider, and It's Not Who You Think". PCMAG.
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