Boom Supersonic, the US company developing a supersonic passenger aircraft, presented the production design of the Overture at the Farnborough Airshow. It also announced a partnership with Northrop Grumman to develop special aircraft for the US government.

The Overture can carry 65 to 80 passengers and flies twice as fast as current scheduled flights. The aircraft, which must fly entirely on sustainable aviation fuel, will have a top speed of 2082 kilometers per hour (mach 1.7). The flight range should be 4,250 nautical miles, which is just under 8,000 kilometers.

Production of the Overture will start in 2024, according to the company, after which the first test flights should take place in 2026. Boom Supersonic expects to be able to deliver the aircraft to the first customers from 2029. So far, United Airlines and Japan Airlines are the only commercial airlines to order the Overture.

The modified design presented today is the result of 26 million hours of simulated software designs, five wind tunnel tests and the evaluation of 51 full design iterations. With this updated configuration, Boom combines a number of technical innovations in aerodynamics, noise reduction and overall performance.

For example, the aircraft will fly with four engines, that should reduce the noise level. The Overture must also use the world's first automated system to reduce noise during takeoff. These innovations should ensure that both passengers and people around the airports experience less noise nuisance.

Although minor adjustments will follow based on the tests, the current design is more or less what the production version should look like.

In addition to the presentation of the new design, Boom announced that it will start setting up a new facility for hardware testing in particular. The first full-scale test model will also be housed here. Earlier this year, the company announced that it will build the Overture at Piedmont Triad International Airport in the US state of North Carolina.

Finally, Boom Supersonic announced a partnership with Northrop Grumman to develop special variants for the US government. The Overture must be used for government and military operations that require a rapid response, and thus benefit from the aircraft's high top speed. Northrop Grumman is one of the world's largest defense suppliers.

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tinyurl.com/boomoverture

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* Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)