News

Supersonic test plane XB-1 smashed its top speed record Tuesday, screaming through the sky at Mach 0.82 or 499 knots (575 miles per hour) true air speed.

Supersonic test plane XB-1 smashed its top speed record Tuesday, screaming through the sky at Mach 0.82 or 499 knots (575 miles per hour) true air speed.

The milestone, achieved high above California’s Mojave Desert, marks the closest that aerospace innovator Boom Technology’s supersonic demonstrator aircraft has come to traveling faster than the speed of sound, Mach 1.

Boom’s XB-1 effort promises to deliver the technical knowhow for their future supersonic passenger jet, Overture: a Mach 1.7 craft slated for testing in 2026.

At Mach 0.82, subsonic test plane XB-1 could get from New York City to London in 6 hours — but, at Mach 1.7, the Overture will soon make that trip in just 2.7 hours.

But, Tuesday’s test also took the exotic aircraft higher than it has every gone before.

‘XB-1 reached a new top altitude of 23,015 feet, allowing the team to perform a final cockpit pressurization test,’ Boom noted, ‘ensuring that it is safe to proceed up to 30,000 feet — the altitude XB-1 will fly when it reaches supersonic speeds.’

Boom’s project has been likened to the famous Concorde passenger jets of the 20th Century, which flew over the Atlantic at speeds of Mach 2 from 1973 to 2003.

Boom has assured the public that, like the Concorde of old, their supersonic jet will only break the sound barrier and peal its thunderous sonic booms over the ocean.

The company also vowed in 2017 that its NYC to London flights will cost about $5,000 per customer, compared to Concorde’s old seats decades ago, which would amount to $20,000 adjusted for inflation today.

United Airlines has ordered 15 Overtures and optioned 35 more, according to a Boom press release this past July, with plans to deploy this supersonic fleet in 2029.

‘I’ve done a lot of business trips around the US that I make day trips — I can get back to see my kids that evening,’ United’s vice president of corporate development Mike Leskinen explained.

‘This will open up Western Europe to do the same,’ Leskinen told southern California newspaper The Orange County Register.

This Tuesday’s flight tests, piloted by Boom’s ace Chief Test Pilot Tristan ‘Geppetto’ Brandenburg, also tested a ‘flutter excitation system’ (FES) on the craft’s wings.

The FES system helps to ensure that both the XB-1 test craft, and one day the Overture, will behave predictably in the air as the planes traverses ‘transonic’ speeds, weathering turbulence and pressure from the surrounding air near the sound barrier.

‘The XB-1 team performed tests of the flutter excitation system at higher speeds than previous flights,’ the firm said, ‘hitting Mach 0.7, 0.75, and 0.8 test points.’

Boom will be competing for passengers one day with Texas aerospace company, Venus Aerospace, which is also working on a hypersonic jet plane, called Stargazer.

If cleared for commercial travel, the $33 million Venus jet could complete the 3,459-mile trip from London to New York in less than one hour, or around three times as fast as the Concorde (1,354mph).

Stargazer would even be five-times faster than X-59 (937 mph), an upcoming NASA plane that has also been gifted the mantle ‘Son of Concorde’ by some observers.

One of the lead engineers on NASA’s X-59, Peter Coen, however, has scoffed at the nickname, saying the experimental jet is so much more than that.

‘The X-59 is not, I repeat not, the son of Concorde, other than the general wing shape,’ Coen, mission integration manager for NASA’s Quesst mission, told DailyMail.com this past January.

The X-59 will be NASA’s proving ground for ushering in a new era of supersonic flight, he said.

NASA’s ultimate goals for the plane are to develop quieter supersonic flight, bring that technology to passenger planes, and overturn a 50-year Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ban on overland supersonic flights in the US, Coen explained.

The X-59, built by Lockheed Martin for $247.5 million, is the flagship aircraft of the Quesst mission.

‘The features in the X-59 are features that you would see in a future supersonic airliner,’ the engineer said.

These include sculpted, swept-back wings set far back on the craft; a tail that creates lift; and an engine that is mounted high up on the plane, above the wings.

But for now: ‘The X-59 is just a tech demonstrator that is not going to leave US airspace,’ according to Chris Combs, director of the University of Texas at San Antonio’s aerospace engineering program.

‘If it is shown as possible to fly overland without creating noise problems at supersonic speed,’ Combs added, ‘it opens up many more routes for a potential carrier, perhaps making the entire endeavor a more easily justified business venture.’

Related Posts

Jewish football team ‘chased by knife-wielding pro-Palestine mob’ in Berlin days after horror Amsterdam ‘pogrom’

A JEWISH football team is now under police protection after it was “attacked“ by a knife-wielding pro-Palestinian mob in Berlin. Teens from Makkabi Berlin’s youth team claim they were “hunted down“ by a group of Arab youngsters after a game against local rivals last week. The match was held in Neukölln, a suburb known for its significant Arab and Turkish communities.

Chris Cuomo stuns podcast host Patrick Bet-David by revealing who he voted for

Chris Cuomo admitted he kept his vote in the family on Election Day, writing in his brother Andrew instead of voting for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. The NewsNation anchor confessed ‘I probably shouldn’t tell you’ but gave in when asked by podcaster Patrick Bet-David. ‘I voted for my brother. I wrote him in. I’ll show you the picture,’ he said, as Bet-David asked credulously over and over again.

Watch as yet MORE horror floods smash Spain with torrents sweeping cars like litter just days after more than 200 killed

A FRESH wave of horror floods has smashed Spain yet again with devastating footage showing powerful torrents sweeping cars like litter. It comes while the country is still reeling from torrential rains and storms that wreaked havoc – killing more than 200 people and leaving a trail of utter disaster. Now Spain’s Almeria city has been hit by fresh floods as more regions turn into sight of carnage.

Annastacia Palaszczuk called out after dismissing nuclear energy on Q+A appearance

A teenage boy has called out former Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk after she rejected nuclear power plants as an option for Australia’s future energy mix. On ABC’s Q+A, Ms Palaszczuk argued against nuclear energy during a debate about Peter Dutton’s proposal to construct seven nuclear reactors if he wins the next election. ‘Nuclear is not the option,’ Ms Palaszczuk argued on Monday night.

Britain RUBBISHES Russian claim of ‘war drills’ in channel & says Vlad’s ship quietly ‘transited’ under our watchful eye

THE Royal Navy has rubbished Russia’s claims its “most dangerous“ warship held military drills in the English Channel. State media reported the ultra-modern Admiral Golovko practised combat against mock enemies while passing through. Sabre-rattling Putin deployed the Project 22350 warship from its Arctic home base in Severomorsk 11 days ago for its maiden long-distance voyage.

Militant farmers to stage a ‘national strike’ against Rachel Reeves’ inheritance tax raids – with meat and crops set to be withheld from supermarkets

Militant farmers will hold back meat and crops from supermarkets next week as part of a ‘national strike’ against Labour’s inheritance tax raids. The direct action will be taken by ‘several thousand’ UK farmers over a week starting from Sunday. It coincides with over 10,000 farmers heading to London for a march against the punishing tax next Tuesday, November 19.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *