Concorde 2.0: Startup to Test Prototype of Supersonic Airliner

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.