XB-1 ADVANCES SUPERSONIC DREAM WITH SUCCESSFUL SECOND FLIGHT
The Boom XB-1 is a one-third-scale supersonic demonstrator aircraft built by Boom Supersonic to prove the technologies that will power Overture, the company's planned 80-passenger supersonic airliner. On August 26, 2024, the XB-1 completed its second test flight at Mojave Air and Space Port in California, clearing key milestones in gear retraction and digital flight control that bring the Overture program meaningfully closer to reality.
The XB-1 Test Program: What It Is and Why It Matters
The XB-1 is not an end in itself. It is a proof-of-concept aircraft designed specifically to validate the aerodynamic design, propulsion approach, and flight control software that Boom intends to scale into the Overture supersonic airliner. Every system tested on the XB-1 feeds directly into Overture's design, making the demonstrator program critical to the commercial supersonic travel timeline. The XB-1 is powered by three General Electric J85-15 turbojet engines and built with a carbon composite structure, incorporating the aerodynamic principles that will allow Overture to cruise at Mach 1.7 while carrying 64 to 80 passengers up to 4,250 nautical miles.
Second Flight: Landing Gear, Roll Damper, Digital Stability System
The XB-1's second test flight on August 26, 2024, was piloted by Boom Chief Test Pilot Tristan "Geppetto" Brandenburg, who had flown the chase plane during the first flight earlier that year. The aircraft reached an altitude of 10,400 feet and a speed of 232 knots (277 mph). During the flight, three specific test objectives were accomplished for the first time: the full retraction and extension of the landing gear, the activation of the digital stability augmentation system, and the first deployment of the roll damper, a new control system introduced based on analysis of the first flight's data.
The engineering team also applied tufting to the right wing to observe airflow dynamics in flight, providing visual data on boundary layer behavior that computational models can only approximate.
FAA Authorization and the Path to Supersonic Speed
Ahead of the second flight, the FAA issued Boom Supersonic a Special Flight Authorization to exceed Mach 1, allowing the XB-1 to break the sound barrier in the Black Mountain Supersonic Corridor near Mojave. That milestone was reached on January 28, 2025, when the XB-1 performed its first supersonic test flight, going supersonic three times in a single sortie and reaching a top speed of Mach 1.1. This made the XB-1 the first privately developed jet aircraft to achieve supersonic flight, a historic data point for the broader private aerospace sector.
Overture: The Commercial Supersonic Airliner
The data from the XB-1 program feeds directly into Overture's development. Boom's plan for Overture is an airliner with 64 to 80 seats, a cruise speed of Mach 1.7 (approximately twice the speed of a conventional commercial jet), and a range of 4,250 nautical miles. At that speed, transatlantic routes that currently take 7 to 9 hours would take approximately 3.5 hours. Overture is designed to be net-zero carbon using 100% sustainable aviation fuel.
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Photo: Boom Supersonic
Sources: Boom Supersonic official blog | Simple Flying
