DALLAS (AP) — Aviation startup Boom Technology says it can power supersonic passenger jets with engines designed by an organization higher known for making small engines used on drones and cruise missiles.
Boom said Tuesday that Florida Turbine Technologies, or FTT, will design the engines and a division of General Electric will manufacture them for its jet, which it says might be making test flights in 2026 and carrying passengers a number of years after that.
The corporate says its 88-seat jet, called Overture, will use 4 engines, fly as much as 1.7 times the speed of sound — about 1,300 mph — and use sustainable aviation fuel.
The Denver company generates loads of skepticism in aviation circles for its ambitious schedule and certitude that supersonic passenger flights may be economically feasible and environmentally benign — Concorde wasn’t, so it stopped flying.
Getting the plane certified will probably be daunting, with regulators more cautious after two deadly Boeing Max crashes. Flights would likely be limited to ocean crossings or would need to decelerate over land to limit damage from sonic booms. And Boom overhauled Overture’s design just a number of months ago.
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“I understand that folks say Boom’s got its work cut out for us. We do,” founder and CEO Blake Scholl said in an interview. “The individuals who think we’re not going to get there — I look ahead to having them on board a flight.”
Much of the skepticism has centered on the dearth of an engine for Overture. Rolls Royce ended its relationship with Boom earlier this yr after producing some engineering studies, and other leading engine makers indicated they weren’t inquisitive about stepping in.
Scholl said Boom “checked out a bunch” of other engine designers and manufacturers before selecting FTT, which is majority owned by Kratos Turbine Technologies, and GE Additive, higher known for 3D printing than for aerospace manufacturing. He declined to call the opposite firms.
Scholl said Boom will reduce costs by designing a completely latest engine slightly than tweaking one made for subsonic flight.
“That is the primary engine designed from scratch for sustainable industrial supersonic flight,” he said.
American Airlines and United Airlines have made deposits on future Overtures — although neither airline would say how much they put down.
Boom plans to construct Overture in Greensboro, North Carolina, partly due to its location near open ocean where the planes may be tested without rattling windows on the bottom.
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