The madness of the greatness of man has further pushed its own limits. Complete journeys between Los Angeles and Sidney in 8:30 am, and those from London to New York in 3:15. This is the completely crazy goal that the Boom Supersonic company has set for itself, by developing an aircraft three times faster than current machines. With a top speed of 2,600 km / h, or 2.2 times the speed of sound, this racing car was designed to accomplish an ambitious mission: “to break the barrier of time”, according to company CEO Blake Scholl. Called Overture, this real rocket will be able to accommodate between 65 and 88 people, reported the American channel CNN. The icing on the cake: it will be possible to board Overture for less than 100 euros, and to travel across the oceans to 500 destinations, in just four hours.
But is all this realistic? Boom Supersonic has already admitted that the project has its share of limitations. The company noted in particular that the insane speed of the plane will generate heat and energy almost unbearable for current engines, which would melt immediately. The start-up has therefore admitted to relying on future inventions to resolve this downside. “It’s possible,” said Sean O’Keefe, an aeronautical technology expert at Syracuse University, “but it’s going to take two or three generations of technological development, or about 20 years”.
The consolation prize following this cold shower is provided to you by Blake Scholl, the CEO. He wants to fly the first Overture within 5 years, in 2026. At first, perhaps the machine, guaranteed carbon neutral by the company, will not go at the maximum speed targeted. But in the long term, this aircraft could well be the technological leap that would bring us out of inertia in terms of aeronautical performance in which we have been frozen since the 1960s. Flight times, although already prodigiously short at the time, on the other hand, have hardly decreased since. Another important point which risks weighing on the balance: Overture has aroused the interest of the highest institutions and companies. A subdivision of the United States Congress and the financial firm American Express have already got their hands on the wallet. As a token of confidence, six billion dollars have been invested in this project so far, the company said. The development of the first Overtures has been set for 2023.
