Good news for Boom Supersonic: the startup has finally found a manufacturer for the engines of its supersonic aircraft project.
We have already told you about Boom Supersonic and the Overture, a commercial supersonic aircraft that is expected to enter service in 2029. But despite real interest on the part of the airlines, particularly United, the program came to a serious halt with the withdrawal of Rolls Royce, which was to supply the engines.
At that time, we did not believe in the project’s future because, given the sums involved, there were only few players likely to take the risk of investing in the design of an engine which will be used on only one aircraft, for a manufacturer that has never flown an aircraft before and in a niche, supersonic flight, that remains a real commercial challenge.
Well, Boom proved us wrong and last week announced Symphony, the Overture’s propeller. To develop it, Boom partnered with Symphony, Florida Turbine Technologies (FTT) for engine design, GE Additive for additive technology design consulting and StandardAero for maintenance. Businesses with a certain experience in the sector since FTT has among its teams engineers who participated in the development of supersonic engines for fighters.
The Overture will carry 65 to 80 passengers at Mach 1.7 on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with a range of 7800 km (4,250 nautical miles).
