Boom completes third test flight
(Photo Boom Supersonic)
BOOM SUPERSONIC’S XB-1 demonstrator aircraft completed its third flight on September 13. The mission, which took place in the skies above the Mojave Air & Space Port in California, allowed chief test pilot, Tristan ‘Geppetto’ Brandenburg to fly the XB-1 to the maximum pitch and yaw attitudes it expects to see in flight. The team also used the sortie to analyse the performance of the prototype’s environmental control system (ECS), which manages the temperature and pressurisation of the cockpit. Boom said the test would ensure that the ECS functioned as expected at higher altitudes, where it is colder and the pressure is lower, and where it hopes its full-scale Overture aircraft will eventually fly with paying passengers. In another significant step, the XB-1’s landing gear was extended and retracted at higher speeds than the previous flight (215kts), the second of three steps the company is taking to reach the maximum safe speed for raising and lowering the gear, which is 225kts. The XB-1 provides the foundation for the design and development of Overture, Boom’s supersonic airliner. The Colorado-headquartered company said the sequencing of test flights would be increasing, with a total of around ten sorties required before XB-1 can be flown at supersonic speeds. Analysts say this could happen as soon as the end of 2024.