Boom Supersonic said on Tuesday that it has made “significant advances” in the development and industrialization of the Overture supersonic airliner. The start-up company announced various supplier agreements for aircraft structures, which bring Aernnova, Leonardo, and Aciturri on board. Boom also claims progress on the Symphony engine. Boom secures new suppliers for structural parts.
During a packed media briefing at the Paris Airshow, CEO Blake Scholl announced the updates with his usual flair but evaded most of the questions with pr-speak answers.
At last year’s Farnborough Airshow, Scholl unveiled the completely redesigned Overture and announced some industrial partners. In Paris, Boom shared updates on further partnerships. Aernnova, the Spanish aerostructures company that is a tier-1 supplier to Airbus and Embraer, has been commissioned to design and develop the wing structure. Overture has gull wings to enhance supersonic performance and improve subsonic and transonic handling.
Leonardo, a producer of aircraft and aerostructures for ATR, Airbus, and Boeing, will become responsible for two major fuselage structural components. This includes the wing box. Overture has a contoured fuselage with a larger diameter toward the front of the aircraft and a smaller diameter toward the rear to minimize wave drag.
Another Spanish company, Aciturri, will design and develop the empennage, which features a differentiated horizontal stabilizer for greater control at subsonic speeds.
Systems
Boom also shared more information about the fuel systems, which provide a center of gravity control during subsonic and supersonic operations, enable sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) compatibility, and supply fuel to the engines. Overture will have triple-redundant hydraulic systems for flight controls and mechanical systems.
After Boom failed to attract the support of one of the established engine makers, it announced last year that it would commission the development of the engine to FTT and other companies. Scholl shared the engine architecture for the Symphony engine, which is a two-spool, medium-bypass turbofan engine without an afterburner that offers 35.000 pounds of thrust. It has a 72-inch fan and features parts produced with additive manufacturing. A 3D-printed, 1:3 scale design model has been completed. FTT has been tasked to develop a number of engines for ground tests, flight tests, and certification.
Boom started construction of its Greensboro assembly plant earlier this year and plans to start production of the first Overture in 2025. Two years later, the supersonic aircraft should make its first flight. Blake Scholl reiterated that entry into service is still planned for 2029, but he had quite a few in the audience who continue to doubt the viability of the project.
