DENVER — Nearly 17 years after the Concorde's last flight, a U.S. aviation startup is about to test a prototype for the next supersonic commercial passenger jet.
Boom Supersonic will unveil its XB-1 prototype on October 7 and test flights will begin in 2021, the company said in a press release dated July 8.
Touted by the company as "history's fastest privately developed aircraft," the XB-1 will have only one pilot, a delta wing and a trijet layout.
The XB-1 is one-third the size of the Overture, the 55-seat supersonic airliner Boom hopes to build.
According to the company, the Overture will fly at Mach 2.2, more than twice the speed of sound.
A flight from Tokyo to Seattle would take four-and-a-half hours.
Each aircraft will be priced at $200 million, and AP reports that Boom had secured preorders worth US$6 billion before the coronavirus pandemic.
Buyers include Virgin Group and Japan Airlines, which invested US$10 million in the company in 2017.