The American startup Boom Technology has made changes to the project of the prospective supersonic passenger aircraft XB-1. The changes were made during the analysis of the draft design of the aircraft. With them, the company defended the project and in the near future will begin assembling the flight prototype of the technology demonstrator.
The civil supersonic aircraft today does not exist. In the 1970s, the Soviet supersonic airliner Tu-144 and the French Concorde were put into operation, which are no longer in operation. Existing technologies today make it possible to make a supersonic airplane relatively economical, which means that transportation itself is not expensive. In addition, the current development in the future will allow the construction of quiet supersonic aircraft, which will be allowed to fly over the inhabited part of the land.
In November last year, Boom Technology introduced the XB-1 model, performed on the original draft design. Its length is 20.70 m, and the wingspan is 5.20 m. The device is planned to be equipped with three turbojet engines GE J85-21, each of which is capable of developing traction up to 15.7 kilolewtons. The model was equipped with two trapezoidal air intakes.
The estimated cruising speed of the XB-1 is 2.2 Mach numbers (2,700 km/h), and the range of flight is 1,900 km. The maximum take-off weight of the technology demonstrator is 6.1 tons. The technology demonstrator is equipped with only a two-seat cockpit of pilots.
The plane received a sharp nose and a relatively low and narrow fuselage, only slightly rising above the highest point of the cockpit. The device is equipped with a three-legged chassis, which is retracted into the niches of the fuselage.
During the analysis of the draft design, the designers decided to reduce the dimensions of the two air intakes and add a third. Now each engine will receive an air mixture from its air intake. In addition, the shape of the fuselage was changed – it became lower and narrower. This was done to ensure that the aircraft was more resistant to gusts of the side wind.
After the testing of the technology demonstrator, Boom Technology intends to develop a full-size prototype of a supersonic passenger aircraft. This aircraft will have a length of 51.80 m and a wingspan of 18.30 m. The aircraft will be designed to carry 45 passengers.
