wind tunnels
For the sub-system testing, Boom is
using an iron bird. The aircraft’s actual
sub-systems are laid out in a test centre
and connected to ensure they can be
integrated. “The entire flight control
system is up and running, the hydraulic
system is up and running and we have the
heat exchangers for the environmental
control system that are working on their
own,” Scholl explains.
Boom has also tested manufacturing
processes for XB-1.
Fabrication of the
composite fuselages
and wings is a
multi-step process
starting with foam
moulds, precision
machined polyurethane masters, and
autoclave-cured carbon skin moulds. “We
also test for assembly,” says Scholl. “You
can use CAD to see how it will be put
together, but when you go to build it you’ll
find that you can’t get your hand in there
and turn the wrench.”
“XB-1 is all
about testing”
Mock-ups of the aircraft’s structures
are being built so the assembly process can
1,000+
tests on composites for
the aircraft
10,000 lb
of force on the XB-1
horizontal tail during
supersonic flight
RETURN OF SUPERSONIC FLIGHT?
Boom is one of two companies working to
bring back commercial supersonic flight
since the retirement of the Concorde fleets
in 2003, the other being the Reno, Nevadabased
Aerion. Both firms claim to have a
strong business case for supersonic travel.
Boom already has orders for its 55-seat
airliner, Overture. Between them, Japan
Airlines and Virgin Group have ordered 30 of
the aircraft. Japan Airlines has also invested
US$10 million in Boom.
Aerion is developing the eight-seat, Mach
1.4, AS2 business jet, which is expected
to start flight testing in 2023. Private jet
provider Flexjet has ordered 20 AS2s. In
February, it was announced that Boeing had
invested in Aerion.
Last year, Boeing revealed its Mach 5
airliner concept at the American Institute
of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ (AIAA)
2018 Aviation and Aeronautics Forum. This
year, on June 19, Lockheed Martin unveiled
its Quiet Supersonic Technology Airliner
concept at the same AIAA aviation event.
It is a twin-engine 40-seat aircraft with
a cruise speed of Mach 1.8. Lockheed is
building NASA’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic
Technology X-plane which will test
technologies to reduce the sonic boom.
26 SEPTEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
be practised. “There’s nothing like actually
experiencing that with real hardware,” Scholl adds.
While Boom has selected and tested the engine for
the XB-1, the General Electric J85-15, the engine for
Overture is yet to be selected. However, its competitor,
Aerion See Box, Return of supersonic flight? announced in
October last year that it would be using the General
Electric Affinity engine.
Once the engines are integrated to the airframe and
ground testing complete, XB-1 flight tests will take place
in a designated supersonic corridor that is part of the
United States Edwards
Air Force Base in
California, USA next
year. “We would like
there to be more
supersonic corridors
and we’re working on
that,” says Scholl, which he clarifies as meaning
discussing with aviation regulators and government.
The planned entry-into-service for Overture is in the
2020s. By that time it will be more than 20 years since
Concorde’s retirement and more than 50 years since that
aircraft’s 1969 flight tests. Only the testing still to come
will determine whether commercial supersonic aircraft
will be here before the sixtieth anniversary of
Concorde’s first test flights. \\
3 // The XB-1
demonstrator aircraft will
use three General Electric
J85-15 engines, which
have undergone testing
for use on the aircraft
3
/AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM