‘Son of Concorde’ supersonic jet that will fly passengers from London to NYC in 3.5hrs shares first major update of 2025

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‘Son of Concorde’ supersonic jet that will fly passengers from London to NYC in 3.5hrs shares first major update of 2025
Author: Millie Turner
Published: Jan, 13 2025 09:43

'SON of Concorde' XB-1 jet is "on track" to break the sound barrier in early 2025, makers of the supersonic plane have announced. In its first major update of the year, bosses at Colorado-based Boom Technology, confirmed the jet was able to reproduce "transonic" speeds of Mach 0.95 or 575 knots.

 [a jet with the numbers n909x8 on the side is flying over mountains]
Image Credit: The Sun [a jet with the numbers n909x8 on the side is flying over mountains]

Mach 1 and above is when a jet can be classed as supersonic. XB-1 reached Mach 0.95 at 32,417ft in a test flight on 19 December, a new speed and altitude record at the time. The most recent test flight on 10 January saw XB-1 reach near-supersonic speeds again at a max altitude of 29,481ft - slightly higher than Mount Everest.

 [a plane with n999xe on the tail is taking off]
Image Credit: The Sun [a plane with n999xe on the tail is taking off]

"Flight 11 again reached a transonic top speed of Mach 0.95, faster than the cruising speed of today’s airliners," the company said in a flight test update. "An aircraft flies transonic when it reaches the range of speeds just below supersonic, which is Mach 1.".

 [Boom Supersonic XB-1 supersonic jet.]
Image Credit: The Sun [Boom Supersonic XB-1 supersonic jet.]

Mach 1 is about 767mph. The flight, piloted by chief test pilot Tristan Brandenburg, completed the final handling checks ahead of its first supersonic flight. It's unclear when the next test flight will be. The company said it will review Flight 11 to determine whether another test flight is needed before taking XB-1 to supersonic speeds.

The 44-minute flight pushed the jet's dynamic pressure to 383 KEAS (knots equivalent airspeed), which is higher than what will be experienced at Mach 1.1. "As an aircraft approaches supersonic speeds, dynamic pressure becomes a key factor - [KEAS] is essentially how hard the plane is pushing through the air," the company explained in a post on Threads.

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