Aircraft biz Boom Supersonic completed the second test flight of its XB-1 demonstrator vehicle on Monday, during which the landing gear was retracted and extended for the first time and its new roll damper was tested.

The 15-minute test flight took place in the Mojave Desert where the XB-1 reached an altitude of 10,400 feet and a speed of 232 knots (266 mph/429 kph).

In a promotional video documenting the flight, a member of the flight test team can be heard commenting that the aircraft is "so smooth with the gear up."

"I'm happy with what I see of the damper so far," stated another.

According to Boom Supersonic, the roll damper was "implemented to improve handling qualities based on learnings from first flight."

In addition to the landing gear and roll damper, engineers visually evaluated the direction and strength of airflow across its right wing by observing applied tufting, which can also be seen close-up in the video around 43 seconds in.

"Initial results indicate we've successfully resolved the findings from Flight One and are excited to continue flight testing on the path to supersonic flight," said Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl in a statement.

On his LinkedIn profile, Scholl confirmed that the stability issues from the first test flight, which took place in March, were resolved.

Scholl had previously described the aircraft's performance as being "twitchy in the roll axis."

The CEO detailed that the company was accelerating the third test flight to take place in "a month or so."

Flight test number two was the first time airborne in the XB-1 for pilot Tristan "Gepetto" Bradenburg, who is expected to continue as pilot for the remainder of the test program. During the first flight, Bradenburg flew the T-38 chase aircraft, which monitored XB-1 in the air.

Scholl called Monday's flight "another step toward the return of supersonic passenger travel."

But to get there, the aircraft needs to expand its flight envelope and eventually break through Mach 1, which Boom reckons it can do in ten test flights.

In order to break the sound barrier, Boom had to secure special authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which it did for certain airspaces last April. The FAA has prohibited civil aircraft flying over US land mass from exceeding Mach 1 since 1973 due to concerns about the noise pollution caused by sonic booms.

The XB-1, lovingly nicknamed the "Baby Boom," is a one-third size version of what will eventually be the Overture airliner. The aircraft company hopes to have the Overture in service by 2030, carrying up to 80 passengers at a time at max speeds of Mach 1.7.

The Denver-based aerospace biz hopes to become the heir to commercial supersonic travel after the Concorde was retired in the early 2000s.

According to the company, the Concorde was just ahead of its time. In its heyday, there was a lack of modern materials and a less developed global travel market, which translated to high maintenance costs and restrictive ticket prices.

Whether Boom's Overture can successfully step into that space is unanswered at this stage - other aircraft companies have certainly gone broke trying. Supersonic Aerospace International (SAI) went bankrupt in 2009 while trying to develop a quiet supersonic vehicle, and Aerion, with its supersonic business jet, the AS2, followed suit in May 2021.

But for now, Boom Supersonic lives to fly another day. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/08/27/boom_supersonic_flight_two/