The world’s likely best shot at a new supersonic airliner to follow on from the lamented-by-some Concorde just got a giant new lift under its wings, but with no engine selected yet, it seems far from ready for take-off.
American Airlines just put down cash money as a deposit on 20 of the planes, with options for 40 more; they obviously have a stake in the game, even speculating on possible routes for the plane, which is planned to carry 65 to 80 passengers at 1.7 times the speed of sound. A year ago, United put in its order for 50 Overtures. That kind of order not only involves money, it helps sell lenders on providing more.
Boom Supersonics’ plane, named Overture, got its most recent publicity at last month’s Farnborough Airshow, where the company showed off what it considers the final design, which it expects to roll out as a prototype in 2025, fly in 2026 and enter into service in 2029.
But the catch is that the schedule depends on the availability of an engine that can do the job with the plane. And run on sustainable aviation fuel, to boot. Boom has partnered with Rolls Royce to develop concepts for the engine, but Rolls Royce told industry publications this week that no one has yet been actually assigned to design and build one.
Perhaps the announcement should have included “Don’t bother fastening your seatbelts yet; we anticipate a serious tarmac delay.”
