Key Takeaways
• Boom invests up to $5 million upgrading Colorado Air and Space Port for Symphony engine ground testing in 2024.
• Symphony’s core engine tests begin by end of 2025; full engine tests planned for upgraded site in 2026.
• Symphony engine will use only sustainable aviation fuel, aiming for environmentally responsible supersonic travel.
Boom Supersonic has set a new direction for both supersonic flight and aerospace growth in Colorado 🇺🇸, announcing that it will bring ground testing of its new Symphony engine to the Colorado Air and Space Port (CASP) near Denver. This step is not just a big investment in a local facility; it signals a shift in how new aviation technology, especially supersonic passenger travel, will be developed, tested, and eventually introduced to the world.
Using Colorado Air and Space Port for Engine Testing
Boom Supersonic has picked the Colorado Air and Space Port in Watkins, just about 35 miles away from its Denver base, to become the main center for Symphony engine tests. The facility Boom will use has a history with advanced engines — it was once used by Reaction Engines from the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 for their own engine development before leaving the site. This background means the location is already set up for important kinds of engine work, making it a smart choice for Boom’s new needs.
Boom is not simply moving into the facility as it stands. The company plans to spend between $3 million and $5 million in 2024 to get the test center ready for its special requirements. Planned upgrades include new safety systems, a modern control room, better tools for measuring and recording data, and a fresh fuel farm. All these improvements aim to make the site safe, flexible, and able to collect the high-quality information needed to create a reliable supersonic jet engine from the ground up.
Key Role for the Symphony Engine and its Design
The core purpose of the CASP test site is to help bring the Symphony engine from early design to a working reality. Symphony is being developed as a “medium-bypass turbofan,” a type of jet engine with a design made just for Boom’s Overture airliner, which will carry passengers at speeds up to Mach 1.7—more than one and a half times the speed of sound.
The Symphony’s first tests at CASP will focus on its “core,” which is the section responsible for the main work in any jet engine. This core contains the compressor, the combustor, and the turbine. Imagine a section of machinery that is 12 feet long and 4 feet across—that’s the size of this heart of the engine. During ground testing, engineers will check how the core parts run together, collect detailed measurements, and use that data to adjust the design before building the complete engine.
By running these tests at their own site instead of renting space in a government facility, Boom Supersonic hopes to move faster, keep better control of costs, and tie their engine testing directly to their main engineering team in Denver. Blake Scholl, the company’s Founder and CEO, summed up the move by saying that using an existing site will give Boom the first privately-owned supersonic engine test facility in the world, for less money than renting time in a government lab.
Investment and Support Partners: Who’s Involved?
Creating the Symphony engine is not a job for one company alone. Boom Supersonic has teamed up with several important partners:
– Florida Turbine Technologies is planning the engine’s design.
– Colibrium Additive, a special group inside GE Aerospace, helps by making advanced parts using new methods.
– StandardAero will manage the daily work of maintaining and putting together the engine parts.
Each partner brings a different area of experience. Florida Turbine Technologies ensures the engine’s parts will work well at the speeds and heights needed for supersonic airlines. Colibrium Additive improves the manufacturing process, using tools like 3D printing to create strong, complex parts more quickly. StandardAero focuses on keeping the engine running smoothly and putting together every section with care.
Symphony stands out in another way: it will only run on sustainable aviation fuel—fuel made in ways that limit harm to the environment compared to normal jet fuel. This makes the Symphony engine a step toward making supersonic travel not only possible but also responsible for the planet.
Test Timelines and the Path Ahead
Boom has a clear schedule for using the Colorado Air and Space Port:
– By the end of 2025, initial tests are set to start on the engine’s key parts, with a focus on the core section.
– In 2026, Boom expects to test the full Symphony turbofan engine at a larger, upgraded version of this same site.
The plan is to collect detailed data from every stage of engine testing, checking for efficiency, power, and safety. This careful, step-by-step approach will feed directly into building the final version of the Symphony, which will power the Overture airliner into a new age of fast passenger travel.
Why Building a Private Test Center Matters
Before this decision, most companies trying to build new, very advanced jet engines like the Symphony would have had to rent time at government-owned facilities. This could slow things down and make it much harder to keep the research and building teams working closely together. Now, by choosing to set up at the Colorado Air and Space Port, Boom Supersonic can:
– Speed up how quickly the Symphony engine reaches the stage where it can fly.
– Cut down on costs that would go to outside groups or government labs.
– Bring their engine designers and airplane engineers into one connected team for faster decisions.
As reported by VisaVerge.com, this move means that Colorado could become the leading place in the United States 🇺🇸 for building and testing new types of engines aimed at future flight—which might include not just passenger airlines but many other uses as well. With more than 130 orders already received for the Overture, the Symphony engine’s progress is being closely watched by airlines, travelers, and even regulators worldwide.
How Does This Affect Aviation and the Local Community?
The presence of Boom Supersonic and the new engine test center at the Colorado Air and Space Port brings many changes that go beyond fast flights. Here are some potential ripple effects:
- For Colorado and Denver: The state’s workforce will get new jobs, both in building and running the test facility, and in related work on engine and airplane design. Local schools and colleges might form partnerships with Boom or its partners, bringing direct learning and work options for students interested in science, engineering, or aviation.
- For the aerospace industry: If Boom succeeds in quickly building and testing the Symphony engine, other companies working on advanced engines, whether for speed or efficiency, may decide to also set up shop in Colorado 🇺🇸. This can grow the state’s role as a center for aerospace in the United States 🇺🇸.
- For Boom’s Overture program: Fast, local testing of the Symphony engine reduces the wait for getting the airliner Airworthiness Certified, which is the green light needed to carry commercial passengers. Each successful test brings the Overture closer to real-world flights, setting up Boom as a leader in the “return to supersonic travel.”
- For travelers: If supersonic travel becomes regular again, people could fly between cities much faster than is now possible, cutting trip times across oceans from many hours to just a few.
Historical Context and the Future of Supersonic Travel
Supersonic passenger travel is hardly new, but it has not been seen since the end of the Concorde program more than 20 years ago. Since then, high speeds and fuel use made it too expensive for regular airlines. The Overture and its Symphony engine are designed not only to go fast, but also to lower costs and burn fuel that is better for the environment. With new designs and better technology, Boom hopes to bring back supersonic passenger flights in a way that is accessible to more people, not just the very rich.
A big reason Boom may succeed where others have failed is their focus on private control of the design and test process. By having their own facility at the Colorado Air and Space Port, they do not have to share time, staff, or resources with other government projects. This kind of control means they can adapt quickly to test results, solve problems faster, and keep their work confidential if needed.
What Makes Symphony Different?
From a technical view, Symphony stands out for a few reasons:
– Tailored for supersonic: Many engines today are made for subsonic planes, but Symphony is shaped for sustained speeds above the speed of sound, especially Mach 1.7.
– Medium-bypass design: This means air passes around the core as well as through it, striking a balance between speed, power, and fuel use.
– Exclusively sustainable fuels: By running only on sustainable aviation fuel, Symphony answers growing calls to limit emissions from air travel.
– Partnership drive: The mix of partners, including Florida Turbine Technologies, GE’s Colibrium Additive, and StandardAero, means the very best of design, manufacturing, and service knowledge is focused on this one project.
What Comes Next: Steps Toward First Flight
If tests of the Symphony core go as planned in late 2025, Boom will move quickly to build and run a full-size prototype. The results from these runs will be crucial for the full certification process all new jet engines must pass before use in commercial flight. Once certified, the engine will be matched to the Overture airframe to start real-world, high-speed flight tests—each stage carefully watched by experts and government agencies.
When thinking about where to go for more information on the progress of this testing or the rules governing engine development, readers can find official updates at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Engine & Propeller Directorate. This is the main government body in the United States 🇺🇸 making sure new engines are safe before allowing them on commercial flights.
Looking at the Bigger Picture
The creation of a ground testing hub at the Colorado Air and Space Port is about more than one company or one engine. It shows how private companies can now lead big steps in flight, working alongside—but not waiting for—government groups. By bringing together smart design, constant testing, and a real commitment to the environment, Boom Supersonic hopes not just to bring back fast jets, but to make them cleaner and more affordable.
For families in Colorado 🇺🇸, young people studying science or engineering, or travelers hoping for faster trips across continents, the Symphony test project points to big changes with real meaning. What happens at this 35-mile stretch from Denver might just change how the world thinks about air travel and how quickly that future arrives.
As Boom prepares to begin Symphony engine tests, the eyes of the aviation world are on Colorado Air and Space Port. The results could open new jobs, new ideas, and a new race for safe, sustainable supersonic flight — a future that is now being built step-by-step on Colorado 🇺🇸 soil.
Learn Today
Supersonic → Flying at speeds faster than the speed of sound, typically above Mach 1, enabling significantly shorter flight times.
Medium-bypass turbofan → A jet engine design where a moderate amount of air bypasses the core, balancing speed, efficiency, and fuel use.
Sustainable aviation fuel → Environmentally friendly jet fuel produced from renewable resources, aimed at reducing carbon emissions from air travel.
Core (of engine) → The main section of a jet engine, consisting of the compressor, combustor, and turbine, where most energy is generated.
Airworthiness Certified → Official approval given to an aircraft or engine, confirming it meets safety standards for commercial operation.
This Article in a Nutshell
Boom Supersonic’s Symphony engine will be ground-tested at Colorado Air and Space Port, marking a shift in aviation innovation. Major investments will modernize the site for faster progress. Symphony uses sustainable fuel, with first tests in 2025 and full engine trials in 2026, shaping Colorado’s future in aerospace.
— By VisaVerge.com
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