Full Video: XB-1 Takes Flight

3.22.24. XB-1 takes flight.
Today, Boom’s supersonic demonstrator aircraft, XB-1 safely and successfully executed its first flight at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, CA., flown by XB-1 Chief Test Pilot Bill “Doc” Shoemaker. Test Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg flew the T-38 chase aircraft which monitored XB-1 in the air.
Two decades after Concorde’s retirement, the first flight of XB-1 marks the return of a civil supersonic aircraft to the skies and paves the way for the revival of mainstream supersonic travel onboard Overture, Boom’s sustainable supersonic airliner.

[@leokimvideo]

This really exposes how futuristic and advanced Concord was in the 1960's.

[@varunrathi36]

Or the contrary, supersonic flight isn’t that advanced and shutting it down was retarded

[@joso5554]

Indeed. As well as A-12 Archangel.

[@martinjolivares1]

the big difference is making it profitable, the concorde didn’t achieve that

[@naughtyUphillboy]

@@martinjolivares1 Concord was profitable, check it, for BA it was profitable, not so much for french.

[@bearlemley]

XB-70

[@ericmaglio]

The trim deflection of the stabilators is crazy!

[@albertlert]

Had not noticed until you commented so

[@aldocs]

The whole horizontal stabilizer seems small and lacking control authority at low speeds. Seems a compromise to reduce drag to supersonic speed. The tests results will evolve the design but seems promising

[@sucim]

Is it because it is forward heavy?

[@ioandavies2292]

@@sucim due to slow speed and gear out, I'm guessing

[@Lacquerhead-TX]

@@sucim First flights are almost always low speed with the landing gear down. It's all about minimizing risk on what is ultimately a very risky mission. You can hope that the math correlates with reality but you won't know until you've flown.

[@jasono2139]

Engineering: "We've narrowed the footage down to this 30 minutes that shows all the incredible engineering and testing that we've accomplished." Marketing: "We're think we'll keep this 10 second of the plane taking off and flying and do about 60 jump cuts of close ups of random B-roll footage we got at the hanger."

[@NerdNerdNerdAviation]

True 😂😂😂

[@roykale9141]

Dont forget its "Full Video"!

[@MikeMcNanners]

That wasn't a full flight video, it was a few quick shots

[@BenGodot]

So what?

[@MikeMcNanners]

@@BenGodot So the title shouldn't say "Full Video" I'm sure they have more footage, I'd love to see a longer uncut video

[@BenGodot]

@@MikeMcNanners Well, it's a highlight reel, I guess they can change the title. A supercut would be awesome.

[@nathanbanks2354]

I'm quite happy to be able to watch this video instead of skipping 75% of it. However it would be nice to see a live video in addition for people like you.

[@jonathanflugge3557]

​@@MikeMcNannersDid they or did they not get it in the air. 🤔

[@Damien.D]

It's a beautiful plane. Looks even better when in the sky.

[@rachelwatson3349]

It’s very good looking - more TSR2 vibes than Concorde

[@-108-]

It's actually quite an ugly plane, and looks a bit like a stork, at takeoff.

[@dougaltolan3017]

I was thinking more fugly than beautiful.

[@Tom-mu7zy]

Would look even better with the gear retracted.

[@AM-py5vg]

Some of those shots lasted 3 whole frames, I was starting to get bored.

[@Chris-bg8mk]

Yeah, that was fairly content free. 😕

[@goatflieg]

I'm hoping for a director's cut someday. It would be nice to see at least the takeoff in uncut form.

[@dougaltolan3017]

👍

[@jaxdo7321]

Don’t care buddy

[@t23001]

They hired the director that shot all the mid 1990s music videos.

[@michaelhowell2541]

First steps back into supersonic travel since Concord died. BRAVO!👏👏👏

[@rico4you]

Concorde!

[@BamboozeldGG]

@@rico4you concorde

[@luKASIM23_2]

hailllll yeahhhh.

[@NaenaeGaming]

@@TheWrongPeopleAreInChargeDefinitely. Shame Airbus had to pull the plug, but they are a company that needs to make a profit after all.

[@frfd-zc3hi]

@@NaenaeGaming wdym airbus pulled the plug, the concorde was not an airbus plane. and when retired the airframes were over 40 years old.

[@joeyjamison5772]

A sales brochure. It showed practically nothing.

[@inthelionsden1706]

Congratulations. A fantastic moment and great to see despite this being a highly edited snippet of the event. I would not have called this a "Full Video." I hope we will get to see actual complete videos of this and subsequent flights.

[@gyrocompa]

They call it "full" because they included a one second shot of every stage of the flight 😅

[@miguelpaprodenas8749]

Congratulations Boom Team. I'm glad to see that piece of materials and years of effort are paying off. A hug and lots of strength!

[@jamesmorera3870]

Congratulations, XB-1 team & Boom!

[@Ozuitz]

Love seeing progress from your team. I wish you the best!

[@Bluelightning23]

Come on, it only flew once circle. You could have filmed the whole thing and shown it to us.😊

[@mhxxd4]

They make the most dramatic videos without showing any action

[@Bluelightning23]

@@mhxxd4 Yup. Lol

[@bjorn2625]

I think you majorly underplay what it takes to get an article into the air. Of course it only flew "a circle", that's exactly how you do a test regime. As normal, they didn't even bother with gear up, just validation that everything worked as expected. Now they'll slowly expand the envelope. You're letting perfect be the enemy of good.

[@dougaltolan3017]

​Iike many other comments, this is about the video, not the flight. If the flight was 1 circuit, what woukd it take to show the whole thing in 1 video? Probably less than the annoying pop-video edit we see here.

[@shinjithenegotiator2795]

@@bjorn2625 no what we want to see is the full circle flight not just the highlights we want to see it all in all its glory

[@nathanbanks2354]

Congrats! Looking forward to the first supersonic flight.

[@Hammerli280]

One takeoff, one landing, no smoking hole = SUCCESS! BZ! (Having been Test Director for a first flight, I know just how much effort the test team put in to get to this point.)

[@getsideways7257]

Success? But according to Elon Musk only smoking holes mean success...

[@sundragon7703]

Congratulations on the first flight! Hope future test flights go smoothly. 👍👍👍

[@super_heroes]

Looking forward to flying on Overture!

[@FallenOverseerMusic]

Well I hope i got the money....

[@AnthonyP1991]

@@FallenOverseerMusic Boom aims to price their "cheaper" options at business-class prices for subsonic flights. Still not cheap, I know. However, I imagine they'll become more competitive in 10 - 15 years when another company emulates this, i.e. when there's competition. Moreover, I imagine many people can gradually save up for one of these flights when combined with frequent flyer points. Just being able to experience this once will still be an incredible feat, even if it's a one-off event.

[@FallenOverseerMusic]

@@AnthonyP1991 could you not tell that I'm joking

[@superdiomond2138]

With about 99.99% certainty, Overture will never exist or fly. How do I get to that conclusion? Just look at the economics: A new subsonic airplane cost about 20 billion dollars to create, test and certify these days and you can easily double that for a supersonic plane due to the added challenges. This is the kind of money that only Airbus and Boeing have these days (at least in civil aviation) and Boom supersonic does not even have 1 billion dollars at their disposal. If that did not convince, then just ask yourself: Is it really useful to build a plane that consumes MORE energy and fuel per passenger in times of climate change? A plane that blasts CO2 even higher up into the atmosphere where it stays for even longer? And if that did not convince you: Do you not think there is a reason, neither Boeing nor Airbus is pursuing going anywhere near Supersonic in civil aviation?

[@FallenOverseerMusic]

@@superdiomond2138 I mean, it will be interesting to see it being built.

[@ao8]

Yeah this was beyond cool, stellar sizzle reel. Looking forward to great things from your team!

[@tsbrownie]

I was test pilot on hundreds of subsonic test flights of a prototype in the 1980s, but it turns out there's only so far you can push a C-152.

[@BigDickMark]

Thank you for your service.

[@williamsebastian88]

Familiar shape of the past. Love to see it fly!

[@paulhargreaves1497]

Looks like a bad F-107 copy..........

[@Airsally]

TSR-2 for sure

[@scousedavies565]

My God! They have reinvented a dwarf Concorde! 60 years after the original but with only 1 seat?

[@jackchalk205]

Congratulations to the entire Boom team! Amazing stuff

[@willianzorawski766]

The First one. I've been following this incredible project since 2016.

[@OlNoName]

It’s awesome to think I could see supersonic transport in my lifetime, never saw Concorde but was always captivated by it. This is an incredible first step, can’t wait to see the next ones!

[@ilkerYT]

Yeyy 8 years and they done it !! , Congrats to the awesome team behind the project!

[@bryjael]

I can already imagine those powerful supersonics in the future.

[@simonhughes-king]

And remembering the one in the past....

[@Kaidhicksii]

@@simonhughes-king Eventually, someone has to relaunch the Concorde herself once supersonic takes back off, only this time of course, following the design philosophies of aircraft like XB-1 or the soon-to-be Overture: carbon fiber fuselage instead of aluminum; turbofans instead of afterburners; a more spacious interior, etc. It absolutely can - and imo must - be done.

[@qpwoeiruty108]

@bryjael i bet people were speaking about future like this in the 1960s

[@seanfyodorovich5230]

Keep imagining, because the CGI videos are the closest anyone is going to get.

[@clampy]

SpaceX: You can watch our rockets take off and go into space, and then land themselves. Boom: You get 9 frames and some b-roll of a hanger.

[@simon199418]

Really cool 2024 revamp of BAC TSR-2.

[@meaninglessmovies9891]

Glad I'm not the only one who sees the resemblance!

[@Airsally]

Me too...first thing i thought of

[@SpireUtd]

Yup. British 1964

[@musiconly7447]

oh look at all the little boys trying to look informed by bringing up similarities to older supersonic aircraft. wow... what... would... we... ever... do... with... out... your... insight... 😴😴😴😴😴😴💤💤💤💤💤

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

Hire a new video editor, guys... I had no idea what XB-1 was, before I clicked... and I still have no ******** clue what XB-1 is. The only difference is, now I no longer care.

[@ImmortanDan]

Yeah, get somebody with taste to pick out the music, too. "Generic cathartic strings" is so played-out for milestone videos it's not even funny.

[@Altitude747]

Soon enough, Overture will be flying! Looking forward to it.

[@ernestzurkan5358]

Two Thumbs UP! Great work BOOM.

[@doodlesaurgames7583]

Although I’m sad there weren’t a lot of long form shots of it in the air, I am glad to see us stepping back into commercial supersonic travel

[@jonnywilson6433]

Would love to see an edit of this without 1000 cuts so we could actually admire the plane?

[@ashwin7002]

Right from developing apps to a super sonic jet , Way to go Blake Scholl, Way to go Mate : )

[@ianhawkins4132]

It can take-off, not fall out of the sky flying a circle with the undercarriage down; and land. Congratulations.

[@kevintieman3616]

This is exactly what a first test flight should be, proving the airworthiness of a newly developed airplane. Small steps, they can’t afford to take risks with a human on board.

[@imauser301]

truly honored to have the opportunity to see this

[@waynef.8158]

This only demonstrates how much we have regressed in aviation. XB-70, SR-71, and Concorde were all products of our grandfathers and yet…here we are.

[@Sweetthang9]

The goal of Boom is to make supersonic travel EFFICIENT and commercially viable. Concorde, despite its longevity, was never profitable. Development costs were never fully recouped because it was far too fuel inefficient for its time and was heavily restricted in its routes. It was a space age gimmick...a propaganda tool for the west. After the motivation to succeed politically faded away, so did interest in the Concorde. How you can compare XB-70 (of which a whopping TWO were made, only one of which survives, RIP Joe Walker and Carl Cross) and SR-71 to any commercial aircraft demonstrates how little you understand. To say they were fuel inefficient is an understatement. To say they were difficult to fly is also a vast understatement. Their purposes were completely different. You can't fly fare paying customers in an SR-71 because the majority of its payload (and therefore useable space) was fuel. It also had to be started either by two muscle car engines, or by TEB (which would never pass FAA regulations for safe flight). It couldn't take off fully fuel laden either, so it had to be refueled in flight almost immediately after take off. Technology isn't the only obstacle to progress. We know how to semi-routinely take astronauts into orbit, but the viability of that endeavor is difficult to achieve on a more routine basis. Is that because we've forgotten? No. There are dozens of other factors to consider. That being said...I am still skeptical supersonic travel could ever be commercially viable until we figure out how to fly these kinds of aircraft over populated areas.

[@waynef.8158]

@@Sweetthang9 as a 26 yr aviation mechanic on everything from F-16, F-35, F-22, C-130 and C-17s (not to mention a multitude of civil aircraft) as well as being a licensed helicopter pilot, I can assure you your regurgitation of Wikipedia is impressive. My point was simply we had such engineering marvels a long time ago, yet we stagnated for such a long time as a whole in aviation. You’re welcome.

[@Sweetthang9]

@@waynef.8158 You have absolutely nothing material or original to provide so you're going to criticize my knowledge? Nice try. Regardless of where YOU believe I got it, I'm right. I don't have to list my CV to be credible, because you can't dispute my information. I'm sure you're an aviation mechanic in your own wild hallucinations, but you've proven nothing but the fact that you're a petulant old man making baseless criticisms of people who are innovating while you're sitting behind a computer screen. If you believe we've "stagnated" because there's been no sustainable market for supersonic air travel, you're not paying attention to all of the other innovations in the aviation industry since or ongoing, further proving that you have no idea what's going on.

[@benj5386]

Sack the editor. Get one with a longer attention span.

[@MaraschinoMary1]

I live near the airport where Boom is building the Overture production facility. We (my little grandsons and I) are so excited!

[@KlingbergWingMkII]

Nice work Doc! Just like you've flown it a thousand times. Congrats! Rol

[@sloanlance]

Two questions: 1. Why doesn't the landing gear retract? 2. Why no sonic boom?

[@galuk5565]

The landing gear is not retracted on test flight to avoid problems, and supersonic speed is not achiev also to avoir problems

[@RM.TokyoPhotographer]

I m guessing Boom will arrive earlier than Maglev of Tokyo--> Nagoya. rooting for the future of 1 day travel between Tokyo and USA

[@frglee]

A first test flight is just that. The hard work is all the fine tuning that needs to be done and then the design and construction of a full scale prototype. Such things can take many years, though perhaps not as long as the R&D needed for Concorde. With Concorde, initial research for such planes had started in the 1950s, with the agreement to develop the plane jointly between Britain and France made in 1962. Construction of the two Concorde test plane prototypes, 001(French) and 002 (British), started in 1965. Both made their first test flights in 1969. The first transatlantic demonstration flights were in 1971, and the first production line planes made their first commercial flights in early 1976. Just 14 were made, along with the 2 test planes.

[@biznatch1791]

Could we stop cutting all the time ? We would like to see something for more than one second, please... We are not test subjects in some kind of visual experiment.

[@mscheuring70]

Gave me chills! Congratulations on the first of many flights. The XB-1 reminds me a lot of the TSR2. Can't wait to see a return to supersonic air travel.

[@hifinsword]

Reminds me of the short-nosed version of the QueSST X-59 without canards.

[@albertlert]

Too cinematic a shot, that most of the nuggets a lost. Would prefer a more documentary approach 😊 We would like a longer view, please

[@stephenskinner3851]

I'm not sure there is a room fool of people checking all systems as if it's a rocket launch. The test pilot will be flying the plane and he will be making all those checks by looking at all the instruments in the cockpit, or has something changed in aviation?

[@jasondotter1932]

That's very typical of the first flight of any new aircraft. Lots of sensors being monitored by lots of engineers. This has changed, but only about 50 yrs ago...

[@karlskrivanek5687]

This is a great achievement for the return of supersonic flight - even against the headwinds of recent years - congratulations!

[@user-nk4td9bg6w]

okay glad the little test plane flew but this was just a trailer to hype up investors. no full video here

[@dale3852]

Concorde was so ahead of its time

[@skyhawk5156]

Congratulations Boom on XB-1 FirstFlight! Looking forward for Overture development and delivery 🤩

[@zaegustfen6085]

amazing how we're slowly coming back to supersonic transport :) congratulation to all the engineering team and the test pilot.

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

Congrats to the Boom team on your first flight! May you have all success!

[@skenzyme81]

You actually did it. Congratulations!

[@Maverick_planesYT]

Thanks for getting us a step closer to supersonic airliners Boom!

[@Oceaniaplayz]

Saw this on FR24, didn’t even know it was gonna be up.

[@BradiKal61]

I am prepared to accept the possibility that this aircraft's physical design may mitigate sonic booms, but my question is how do you make it work as a passenger aircraft in that shape? Would the commercial version be scaled up to a ginormous but similarly shaped airplane such that you could walk down an aisle, or does this design require passengers to lay flat and be loaded head to foot in a 3-ft diameter fuselage?

[@21zunarc]

The XB-1 is a third of the size of the Overture is planned to be.

[@aaronstephen103]

The title makes it seems you have something to hide, as you present as an open and transparent video, but it is clearly not. Raises suspiscion for no reason, and makes people more disappointed then when you would tell the truth.

[@billypham3810]

That.. was so uneventful. 😢

[@itsskip]

WOOHOO!!! The best part is that I am still a high schooler and I get to look forward to this as I am beginning pursue a career in aviation!

[@alexanderherzog3064]

The angle of attack is insane

[@agnosticsaint]

Less than any commercial jet takeoff you've ever been on.

[@LDTV22OfficialChannel]

Finally, I've been waiting for this day because I've been watching SpaceX too much.

[@davidf2281]

Pretty strange definition of "full video".

[@afrotonder]

CONGRATS AND EXCELLENT JOB! I cant wait to see the full flight! 😍😍😍😍😍

[@Gelaviation]

We flying faster than sound with diz one!!!!!🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥

[@DenverTI]

Congratulations Boom. Keep the momentum going.

[@2091riveraisrael]

Glad to see progress is being made :)

[@dakernel]

this is a historic event and i would like to congratulate everyone on the boom team for this amazing milestone and achievement!!!!!

[@snitox]

Strange it's still flown by pilots and not autonomous.

[@sunnyfon9065]

Amazing! Can’t wait to fly their supersonic airliner in future.

[@mikespencer237]

The aircraft looks very nose heavy, hopefully that will improve with an increase of airspeed.

[@carandol22]

I hope the final passenger plane doesn't need an entire mission control center! ;-)

[@squeaksquawk4255]

Is anyone else super hyped for the next few decades of aviation?

[@aleksandrat.5058]

Where is the video from the flight? I would like to see take off, flight, landing, not an ad. I'm fascinated with these planes.

[@21zunarc]

Mojave air and space port

[@r0cketplumber]

There are times when I miss Mojave, so many cool things done there.

[@Razer_-fe9mo]

Probably the biggest advancement in aviation this decade! Congratulations!

[@agnosticsaint]

Space X, Artemis II, Europa Clipper vs. supersonic passenger travel that was proven uneconomical and inefficient half a century ago. Okay.

[@male446]

concorde did the same 60 years ago :)

[@ea7654]

Is this a mini version of the plane ?

[@Peizxcv]

Turned a fighter jet into a civilian aircraft, bravo bravo

[@jameshogge]

Probably a silly question but what is this actually testing? There are plenty of supersonic aircraft of this size. All the hard problems seem to appear when scaled up to the size of an airliner

[@c4n2LLC]

I`m in Love, I loved BA Concorde, now I`ve been watching Boom for years

[@deang5622]

The manufacturer of Concorde was not BA, it was Aerospatiale and BAC. The manufacturer's name comes before the name of the aircraft. Eg. Boeing 747 not the name of the airline operating the aircraft.

[@c4n2LLC]

I know but thanks!@@deang5622

[@XxRemixerzxX]

@@deang5622 he never said ba made it...

[@FarmerFpv]

Special thanks to the test pilots who risk their lives so the rest of us can fly safely. Congrats to Boom. The XB-1 is incredible. I look forward to being a passenger on her one day.

[@smoothchillin]

Simply brilliant. The mini doc and Boom's success.

[@fredferd965]

That is a beautiful airplane!!!!!

[@cuckoonut1208]

Wake me up when its ready to go full throttle.

[@vincehammons]

Exploring our aviation past with our new writing projects, keeping up with innovation within the industry provides my heart with joyous motivation and a promising outlook for our future. Congratulations to our living dreamers of the day at Boom. As Wilbur once wrote, you can sit the fence and hypothesize all day, but you have to get off the fence and ride the horse. Congrats again and Godspeed.

[@TheSoftwareNerd]

0:35 Is that a Northrop F-5 Tiger behind the first flight boy?

[@AeonExploration]

Even the *dual seater* F-5’s nose looks a little long to be that aircraft, I think a T-38 is closer (and would also make sense given the port’s nature), or possibly a T-45

[@stevecersonsky8226]

the landing gear makes sense from an impact standpoint, but it would have to stow away if the speeds mentioned were reached.

[@biketech60]

Considering that both takeoff and landing are typically the most dangerous parts of flying , this is a success . Keep us apprised of future test results How about a 5 minute video next time ?

[@kevintaylor791]

Congrats to the entire Boom team! Now the real work begins.

[@jayesh787800]

Congratulations to you all - Well done

[@DabloSV5]

fucking great work guys! im wishing all of you the best with your future projects

[@Jerry-wb7vh]

Understood that there are challenges from building to successful first flight. This aircraft will bring power to military and civil operations.

[@JTDesign1]

Considering all the hoops you are required to jump through, and all the ones you made for yourself as a private startup, it is impressive to have gotten this far. Reducing a boom to a thump seems like an insurmountable hurdle, one I'm not clear on. Does higher altitude diminish what we hear on the ground?

[@MonizLory]

Ok that was great. How about a full video of the “full video” so we can “fully” appreciate the XB-1

[@BuilderBob1]

No shots of the plane flying with the gear retracted, and I'll tell you one thing: it never reached supersonic if that gear was down the whole flight, no way. Also, really? Afterburner? I thought there was not going to be afterburner on the Overture, and yet you say this aircraft is the foundation for Overture. Come on.

[@Nastyn810]

This is a typical first flight for new type. For obvious safety reasons, they only operate within a very conservative envelope on the first voyage - they will progressively explore the rest of the envelope as they prove out and improve various aspects of the design.

[@ieataviationgradefuelusedonthe]

They don’t exceed Mach 1 first flight, TU-144 took flight December of ‘69 but reached supersonic a few months later, Concorde was the same I believe. They’re also developing different engines for the overture as well.

[@Lacquerhead-TX]

Congrats guys!

[@F-14D_Tomcat]

Finially, some modern advancements worthy of the x angle side-by-side shot

[@Troubleshooter125]

Most excellent! I look forward to more progress from Boom Supersonic!

[@OfficialUSKRprogram]

I have an idea to weaken our enemies, let make them believe it's a good idea to have an all-digial cockpit that can easily be hacked and easily be disabled through various means instead of having tried-and-proven analog instruments