THE ‘Son of Concorde’ XB-1 jet has successfully reached supersonic speeds today, breaking the sound barrier for the first time.
The milestone makes the XB-1 the first US-built civil jet to reach supersonic speeds, according to bosses at Colorado-based Boom Technology.
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The supersonic flight was helmed by chief test pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg, who has flown all other XB-1 test flights.
An aircraft can be deemed supersonic when it tops Mach 1, or 768mph.
The XB-1 jet reached Mach 1.1, about 844mph, three times during its latest test flight.
Such speeds could cut the journey from San Diego to Los Angeles to just 10 minutes, according to former chief Concorde pilot at British Airways, Mike Bannister, who was on the ground to witness the inaugural supersonic flight.
The aircraft was closely followed by a Mirage F1 jet for monitoring, and a T-38 chase plane to capture footage.
Today’s supersonic flight lays the groundwork for Boom’s Overture aircraft, which also aims to reach Mach 1.7.
At supersonic speeds, Overture could fly passengers from London to New York City in just 3.5 hours – a flight that currently takes roughly 8 hours on a standard commercial carrier.
XB-1’s most recent test flight – the jet’s fastest yet – was conducted in the Bell X-1 Supersonic Corridor near Edwards Air Force Base in Mojave, California.
That is the same airspace where Chuck Yeager became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound in 1947, in his Bell X-1 plane.
“Even people who have flown supersonic hundreds of times never stop getting excited about it,” Bannister, who has clocked nearly 7,000 supersonic hours in the Concorde, said in a recent statement.
The aircraft has been authorised to fly in only one other airspace, the Black Mountain Supersonic Corridor also in Mojave.
Why did the Concorde fail?
CONCORDE was the supersonic passenger jet considered the ultimate luxury in air travel.
Air France and British Airways announced they would be retiring their fleet of Concorde planes on April 10, 2003.
The plane had its first commercial flight on January 21, 1976, so was retired after 27 years of service and 50,000 flights.
Several reasons led to the decision to retire Concorde.
Air France and British Airways cited low passenger numbers and high maintenance costs.
By the early noughties, the planes were outdated and expensive to run, despite being incredibly advanced when they were first introduced almost three decades previously.
The 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 majorly impacted passenger numbers, as people opted not to fly.
Passenger numbers also fell after an Air France Concorde crashed just minutes after taking off from Paris in July 2000.
The disaster killed all 109 people on board and four others on the ground.
The plane ran over a small piece of metal on the runway, which burst a tyre and caused an engine to ignite.
It was also the only aircraft in the British Airways fleet that required a flight engineer.
A supersonic future
Brandenburg has now joined a small class of people, made up of original Concorde passengers and military fast jet pilots, to have flown at such speeds.
However, companies like Boom are trying to bring supersonic flight back into the mainstream.
The US banned supersonic aircraft in 1973, a move that was strongly influenced by public opinion.
When an aircraft breaks the sound barrier, it creates an explosion-like noise called a sonic boom.
Sonic booms were so loud that they rattled windows and scared livestock.
The noise drastically altered public perception of the aircraft, which were also too expensive for most people to fly in.
The UK banned supersonic aircraft slightly later, in 2003.
“XB-1’s first sonic boom at Mach 1.1 probably won’t reach the ground,” Brandenburg said in a statement last week.
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Supersonic and Hypersonic Jets
There are several types of hypersonic and supersonic jets. A breakdown of what’s been happening in the industry and what’s expected in the coming years.
Talon-A
- Built by Stratolaunch
- Reported speeds of Mach 5
- The first test flight conducted in 2024
X-59 Quesst
- Built by Nasa and Lockheed Martin
- Predicted max speeds of Mach 1.4
- The first test flight in 2024 – but subject to delays
Venus Stargazer M4
- Built by Venus Aerospace and Velontra
- Predicted max speeds of Mach 6
- First test flight in 2025
Quarterhorse MKII
- Built by Hermeus
- Predicted max speeds of Mach 2.5
- First test flight in 2026
Halcyon
- Built by Hermeus
- Predicted max speeds of Mach 5
- First test flight by 2030
Nanqiang No 1
- Built by China’s hypersonic plane programme
- Predicted max speeds of Mach 6
- First test flight in 2025
DART
- Built by Hypersonix Launch Systems
- Predicted max speeds of Mach 7
- First test flight in 2025
