Farnborough - Former Chief Concorde Pilot is First to Fly both Concorde and Overture

Boom is reinventing the cockpit with an all-new flight deck, designed around pilots with safety at the forefront. At the Farnborough International Airshow, Boom unveiled its full-scale flight deck and simulator, combining state-of-the-art technologies with safety-enhancing features to give pilots unprecedented situational awareness and ease of control. 

Ahead of the flight deck reveal, Boom conducted simulated flight research with pilots from the world’s leading airlines, and invited former Concorde pilots to experience flying Overture at the Farnborough International Airshow.

“Passengers and airlines are hungry for supersonic flight,” said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic. “Overture features an all-new flight deck, incorporating extensive pilot feedback, resulting in a flying experience that is both innovative and instantly familiar.”

Former Chief Concorde Pilot for British Airways, Mike Bannister, joined Boom at the show and flew in the Overture flight deck simulator. Bannister flew more hours on Concorde than any other pilot, and has now become the first pilot to fly both Concorde and Overture. 

“I’ve long believed that Overture is the rightful successor to Concorde,” said Bannister, sharing his unique perspective on supersonic flight. “After experiencing Overture’s flight deck, which is incredibly well designed and delightful to fly, my excitement and enthusiasm for this aircraft has only intensified.” 

In this video, watch Bannister talk about his flight deck experience and how it compares to flying Concorde, which was retired twenty years ago. 

Former Concorde Pilots Test Overture’s Flight Deck

In addition to Bannister, we invited several other former Concorde pilots to visit Boom’s chalet and take a turn flying Overture. Former Concorde pilots Keith Barton, Brian Oliver, and John Tye along with Concorde expert and Vice President of Brooklands Museum, Allan Winn, had the opportunity to share their thoughts on how the Overture flight deck compared to Concorde.

Moving from a Manual to Digital Era

Pilots flying the Concorde worked with a cockpit outfitted with hundreds of controls, switches, and buttons – so many that it required a flight engineer in addition to the pilot and co-pilot, who was responsible for many operations that are now automated on Overture. Concorde also famously featured a mechanical droop nose to address visibility issues during takeoff and landing.

Incorporating the next-generation Honeywell Anthem avionics suite, Boom’s all-new flight deck dramatically simplifies the number of controls previously found on Concorde with the use of large touchscreen displays. Overture will eliminate the need for Concorde’s droop nose through an augmented reality vision system, which includes an advanced headworn device from Universal Avionics. Pilots can safely land using autoland or augmented reality views provided on a headworn device and on the pilot’s primary flight display.

Finally, Concorde pilots used a traditional yoke to fly the aircraft. Overture’s flight deck introduces force-feedback sidesticks that allow pilots to control the plane while physically feeling both aircraft response and inputs made by the co-pilot or autopilot. Boom worked with BAE Systems to integrate Active Control Sidesticks into the Overture flight deck simulator displayed at the Farnborough International Airshow.

For the Concorde pilots, the force-feedback sidesticks were the biggest adjustment and revelation. However, they reported finding it easy to adapt to the change and operate the plane in tandem with another co-pilot.

“I had limited experience with sidestick flying, but it was quite easy to get used to. I liked the pressure feedback on it,” said Brian Oliver, Former Concorde Captain.

Hear more from former Concorde pilots on flying Overture’s next-generation flight deck simulator at Farnborough International Airshow here.

“Firstly, it was huge fun to fly Overture, and secondly, we all feel very grateful and privileged to have had the opportunity as ex-Concorde pilots to see what the future looks like,” added Bannister.

“In comparison with Concorde, everything is simplified and so much easier to get a grip on very quickly. I found it amazingly easy to fly,” said Allan Winn, Vice President of Brooklands Museum.

The flight deck simulator experience not only activates pilot interfaces and flight controls, but also incorporates the performance characteristics and flight control laws of Overture, allowing pilots to truly experience what flying Overture will feel like.

“I sat in that seat, and within a very short period of time I was able to adapt to Overture, so that’s telling me that this airplane is really designed for the airline pilots of the future,“ said John Tye, Former Concorde Pilot.

Unprecedented Situational Awareness

Building on the Honeywell Anthem avionics suite, Overture offers pilots unmatched situational awareness and ease of control, providing passengers with the safest possible flight experience. The advanced avionics interface provides continuity to Boom pilots from initial flight training in a simulator, through to physical test flights.

“We set out to make the most user-friendly cockpit in history. It’s completely cloud-connected while still being human-centric. It’s inherently easy to aviate, navigate, and communicate with, and the pilots that fly Overture aircraft will experience that firsthand,” said Jim Currier, President and CEO of Honeywell Aerospace Technologies at Boom’s press conference.

Overture’s flight deck harmoniously integrates physical and digital environments to centralize flight control and significantly improve pilot comfort, with key airplane features accessible through large high-definition touchscreens.

“Working with Universal and Honeywell, we’re working with two of the industry’s best suppliers out there,” said Eli Oleksiak, Senior Engineering Director for Boom Supersonic.

A Level Higher than Boeing and Airbus

Designed around pilots, Overture’s next-generation flight deck is the result of years of learning in aviation safety and extensive feedback from airline, business, and military pilots. In the simulator, pilots were able to test out the features of the flight deck and perform virtual approaches into London’s Heathrow Airport. Here, pilots from the world’s leading airlines share that feedback.

The Return of Commercial Supersonic Flight

Along with the unveiling of Overture’s flight deck, Boom made announcements marking Boom’s rapid progress on its Symphony engine, coming on the heels of accelerating momentum for Boom. In March, the company conducted the historic first flight of its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator and in June completed construction on the Overture Superfactory in Greensboro, North Carolina.