The return of supersonic passenger planes has become an obsession for US startup Boom Supersonic. The company is moving forward with the development of Overture, an airliner capable of flying at Mach 1.7 and carrying up to 80 passengers from 2029, when it hopes to certify it.
But what makes Boom’s design better than that of the iconic Concorde? And what are their differences? Which is the fastest? Which one has more autonomy?
Designing supersonic aircraft capable of being economically viable and at the same time silent has been the “grail” of the aerospace industry since the demise of Concorde, which was never a great commercial success until the end of operation in the early 2000s.
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Since then, several manufacturers have tried to make such a project possible, from startups like Boom to renowned organizations like Lockheed Martin and Virgin Galactic.
Founded in 2014 in the United States, Boom Supersonic develops the Overture with the support of companies such as Honeywell, Latecoere, GE, Collins Aerospace, Safran, Leonardo and FlightSafety.
Boom’s focus is on improving the Concorde idea to make supersonic aircraft economically sustainable. So far, the startup has been able to sell the idea well and has received 130 orders, 35 of which are firm orders.
| Concorde | Overture | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 62,2 m | 61,2 m |
| Height | 11,3 m | 11 m |
| Wingspan | 25,3 m | 32,3 m |
| Passenger capacity | 92-128 | 65-80 |
Boom’s plan is optimistic, with the first aircraft ready in 2026 and the first flight the following year, but passenger flights are not expected to start until 2029.
Putting the Overture project alongside Concorde, there are more similarities than differences. Both are just over 201 feet (60 meters long) and 36 feet (11 meters) high. The difference is in the larger wingspan of the Overture, with 106 feet (32.3 m), compared to 83 feet (25.6 m) of the Concorde.
Although they have practically the same fuselage size, the Overture will have a much smaller capacity than the Concorde. The Boom project is designed to carry 65 to 80 passengers, while the supersonic created by BAC (BAe) and Sud Aviation (Aerospatiale) could carry 92 to 128 passengers.
| Concorde | Overture | |
|---|---|---|
| Cruise speed | 2.160 km/h | 2.082 km/h |
| Range | 6.667 km | 7.871 km |
| Altitude | 18.300 m | 18.300 m |
In terms of capacity, the new project takes into account a greater concern with fuel consumption and also greater comfort in the cabin, which will have only two rows with a single seat on each side of the cabin.
Like the Concorde, the Boom Overture is expected to fly at an altitude of about 60,000 feet or 18,300 meters, well above the subsonic jets and from where it is possible to observe the curvature of the Earth.
Better range
Despite initial rumors that the Overture would cruise at Mach 2.2, or 2,695 km/h, the current specification is Mach 1.7 (2,082 km/h). The Concorde was faster, cruising at 2,160 km/h and reaching up to twice the speed of sound (2,470 km/h) at maximum.
Although a bit slower, the Overture is expected to have a longer range of 4,250 nm (7,871 km) using sustainable fuel, while the Concorde ranged up to 3,600 nm (6,667 km).
The engines are being custom developed for Overture and are called Symphony. Originally the supplier would be Rolls-Royce, the company that also equipped the Concorde.
But while the Concorde’s Olympus engines used afterbunners, the Symphony will do without that extra boost, which means less consumption, noise and pollution.
In place of the aluminum used in the Concorde, the Overture will use carbon composites in the fuselage, which are currently easier to produce and more resistant to the heat generated by supersonic friction.
According to Boom, the aircraft with these characteristics will be able to serve on more than 600 profitable routes around the world, fulfilling the segments in less than half the time of current subsonic jets.
However, Boom has already confirmed that the supersonic flight will only take place over the sea. When flying over the continent, Overture will maintain Mach 0.94, the same situation as Concorde, which could not fly supersonic over the US.
It is an alternative to avoid the noise pollution restrictions associated with supersonic flight, but that does not solve the dilemma of these jets since the ideal scenario is to fly fast in any region.
Orders
Regarding the order backlog, including options, Boom has already surpassed Concorde with 130 aircraft in total. Although only British Airways and Air France received seven Concordes each, more than ten airlines had shown interest in the supersonic, reaching around 100 purchase intentions.
United and American Airlines firm orders alone, which Boom says are non-refundable, add up to 35 planes, which is more than the total number of Concordes manufactured in 27 years of operation (20 aircraft).
American Airlines and United Airlines had also shown interest in Concorde, but later canceled the orders. After so many promises, aviation fans are looking forward to seeing another supersonic passenger in operation.