Up To Speed: July

At the Farnborough International Airshow in July, Boom built on what has already been a year of major progress. Following XB-1’s first flight in March and the completion of the Overture Superfactory in June, Boom announced significant advancements across its Overture and Symphony programs.

Boom Unveils All-new Flight Deck

Overture’s flight deck is the result of years of learning in aviation safety and extensive feedback from airline, business, and military pilots. Boom debuted its next-generation flight deck at the Farnborough International Airshow, where former Chief Concorde Pilot for British Airways, Mike Bannister, experienced flying the Overture simulator. Bannister flew more hours on Concorde than any other pilot, and has now become the first pilot to fly both Concorde and Overture.

Mike Bannister (r) sits alongside Concorde colleague, pilot Brian Oliver in Overture’s flight deck prototype.

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.

“I’ve long believed that Overture is the rightful successor to Concorde,” said Mike 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.”

Read more about Overture’s flight deck and what Concorde pilots had to say about it here.

Symphony Engine Advances Through Testing

Symphony is the purpose-built turbofan engine that will enable economical and reliable supersonic flight onboard Overture, Boom’s supersonic airliner. In October 2023, the Symphony team successfully completed the engine’s Conceptual Design Review (CoDR). This paved the way for hardware rig tests, which are now underway. Boom has also accelerated development of a full-scale engine core, which will be operational in late 2025. Read more about engine rig testing from Boom’s SVP of Symphony, Scott Powell here.

Symphony Engine Facility Selected

Announced at the Farnborough International Airshow, Boom selected StandardAero to perform Symphony engine assembly and testing at its San Antonio, Texas campus. The Symphony production line will scale to produce 330 engines annually.

“We are excited to expand our role to include the assembly and testing of Symphony engines, further supporting the development of next-generation flight with Boom,” said Russell Ford, Chairman and CEO of StandardAero. “Our collaboration is a testament to StandardAero’s world-class engineering capabilities and dedication to delivering solutions that power the future of air travel.”