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They've got at least one already https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/boom-yc-w16-is-building-an-affordable-supersonic-aircraft https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/bo
by wlesieutre 3y ago
They've got at least one already
https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/boom-yc-w16-is-building-an-affordable-supersonic-aircraft https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/boom-yc-w16-is-building-an-...
- dgfitz 3y agoI was intriuged so I looked them up. Looks like they're going to start building. This is pretty neat. https://boomsupersonic.com/press-release/boom-supersonic-first-supersonic-airliner-manufacturing-facility https://boomsupersonic.com/press-release/boom-supersonic-fir...
- andix 3y agoThis is actually how Airbus got started. It's a spin off from the Concorde manufacturer.
- javawizard 3y agoOr more accurately, it's a merger of the Concorde manufacturer with two other aerospace companies. Or even more accurately: it's complicated :)
- jemmyw 3y agoSure but also with the backing of two European governments who wanted to save their aerospace industry.
- andix 3y agoExactly what the US will be doing, if Boeing fails.
- TremendousJudge 3y agoI've been reading about them for years. Rolls-Royce was going to make the engine (the most important and innovative part of the plane), they dropped out in 2022, and then they said they are going to make their own engine. That update you posted is from 2022. Latest update they've posted is from June 2023[0], and they only mention some contractors and that the engine doesn't exist yet. I think the whole thing is vaporware, they'll never make a single flight. [0] https://boomsupersonic.com/press-release/boom-supersonic-announces-significant-overture-program-advances https://boomsupersonic.com/press-release/boom-supersonic-ann...
- dgfitz 3y agoAh that's too bad. I should have done more homework. Thank you for the updated information.
- booi 3y agowow. It's probably a mistake to try to build your own engine. They are so complex and building on top of decades of engineering seems to be the right move. Tesla was barely able to do it and building an electric drivetrain is a lot simpler than a supersonic capable jet engine...
- TremendousJudge 3y agoWhat I've read is that no established manufacturer was interested in developing a non-military supersonic engine, probably because they don't expect to recoup the costs.
- tim333 3y agoI wouldn't hold your breath. The XB-1 prototype was supposed to fly in 2019 and still hasn't: >At the June 2019 Paris Air Show, Blake Scholl announced the date for first flight was pushed out to 2020, six months later than previously planned... >Medium-speed taxi testing was performed in November 2023, with the aircraft reaching a top speed of 94 knots.[22] Following testing, in January 2024 Boom delayed the first test flight to early 2024 to implement safety improvements (wikipedia) And that's just the single seat prototype. Once they've flight tested that they have to do the full design and prototype testing for the passanger model.
- dghlsakjg 3y agoSigh. I want them to compete, but the reality is that no-one has made an economically viable SST despite half a century of trying. If there's anything that modern air travel proves it is that the price of the ticket far outweighs ANY other factor, and SSTs. are not capable of being cheaper than subsonic transport. At least not with our current paradigm of energy/fuel being a major cost of flying.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]