Boom XB-1 Supersonic Aircraft

When it comes to air travel, no one measures trips from coast to coast or from New York to London in distance, they measure them in hours. Boom Airlines made wave a few years ago with a new supersonic aircraft concept that would finally replace the blazing fast hole left by the Concorde when it went out of service. Their supersonic commercial airliner–now known as Overture–isn’t ready to take to the friendly skies yet, but the 1/3 scale prototype XB-1 that it will be based on is scheduled for rollout in the summer. What’s under the skin of that sexy scalpel of the skies? Three J85 General Electric engines that produce a maximum thrust of 12,300 lbf and can hit full performance benchmarks when powered by environmentally-friendly fuel. Carbon composite, titanium and aluminum construction that’s precision tooled within four thousands of an inch, which is the width of a human hair. One of the coolest parts about the project is that Boom is being totally transparent about progress and let’s you dive into the various completion levels of aspects like cockpit (90% done), fuselage (54% complete), and wings (70% ready) so you can really get a feel for how it’s made.