How much faster will boomless flights be?

When in Boomless Cruise, speeds are 40-50% faster than conventional airliners. This means a flight from New York to Los Angeles can be up to 90 minutes shorter. Hybrid routes with overland and overwater segments, such as Chicago to Frankfurt, will also see incremental time savings.

Overture’s advanced autopilot will continuously optimize speed for Boomless Cruise based on real-time atmospheric conditions. Boomless Cruise is possible at speeds up to Mach 1.3, with typical speed between Mach 1.1 and 1.2.

How does Boomless Cruise work?

Boomless Cruise leverages well-known Mach cutoff physics, where a sonic boom refracts upward due to temperature and wind gradients affecting the local speed of sound. This is similar to how light bends when passing through a glass of water. By flying at a sufficiently high altitude at an appropriate speed for current atmospheric conditions, Overture ensures that its sonic boom never reaches the ground.

What design features do XB-1 and Overture incorporate to enable boomless operation?

Unlike “low boom” designs, Boomless Cruise does not require extensive aircraft shaping. Instead, it relies on the ability to break the sound barrier at a high enough altitude where the boom refracts harmlessly away from the ground.

On Overture, Boomless Cruise is specifically enabled by the Symphony engines. These engines feature enhanced transonic performance compared to commercially derived engines, allowing Overture to efficiently transition to supersonic speeds at altitudes above 30,000 feet.

Additionally, Boomless Cruise is enabled by an advanced autopilot which uses current weather conditions and software algorithms to automatically select the optimal speed for Boomless Cruise.

Does this mean Overture is a low boom aircraft?

No, boomless and low boom are distinct concepts. In Boomless Cruise, Overture’s sonic boom does not reach the ground. However, at its full Mach 1.7 speed over water, Overture will generate a sonic boom.

How does Boomless Cruise affect fuel efficiency?

Overture is designed to be most efficient at high subsonic speeds of Mach 0.94 and supersonic speed of Mach 1.7. As aerodynamic drag increases closer to speed of sound, there is a modest increase in fuel burn at low supersonic speeds. Even with this drag penalty, Overture still has plenty of range to fly the longest transcontinental routes, such as Vancouver-Miami.

Was Concorde capable of Boomless Cruise?

Theoretically any supersonic aircraft at the right speed and altitude can be in Mach cutoff. However, Concorde lacked the engine efficiency to fly in Mach cutoff without afterburners, making the range impractical. Additionally in Concorde’s era, the computing power to calculate appropriate speeds and altitudes was not available.

What are example flight times?

With speeds 40-50% faster than conventional airliners, Overture in Boomless Cruise enables passengers to travel from San Francisco to New York in 3 hours 30 minutes instead of just over 5 hours, saving 90 minutes. Passengers can leave Washington, DC at 8:00AM EST and arrive in Los Angeles in just 3 hours 40 minutes at 8:40AM PST.

Do regulations currently permit Boomless Cruise?

In the U.S., FAA regulation 14 CFR 91.817 currently prohibits all supersonic flight over land, regardless of whether a boom reaches the ground. Boom Supersonic supports revising this regulation to allow Boomless Cruise and to establish a certification pathway for future low-boom aircraft. Updating this regulation will support innovation, promote American leadership in aviation, and strengthen U.S. national security.

It’s important to note that the initial Overture is not designed as a low-boom aircraft, and we do not expect to certify it for unrestricted supersonic flight over land.