Design Engine Thrust Increases To 40,000 Pounds

Boom Supersonic has begun manufacturing parts at its facility in Denver, Colorado, for the first test core of the Symphony supersonic engine that will power its Overture airliner. The company also confirmed the new target thrust level for the centerline turbofan engine has increased to 40,000 lb.

Boom plans to assemble the prototype core for testing at its test site at the Colorado Air & Space Port (KCFO) in Watkins, near Denver International Airport. The facility will be expanded for full-on propulsion system testing in 2026.

Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom said in a social media post that the first chips had been cut on a CNC lathe at its Supercenter facility. The company has also acquired a 65,000-lb mill for precision machining of large castings and forgings.

Some core components have already been produced, including additively manufactured turbine blades and outer blade air seals. They will be combined with the new parts to prepare for assembly.

ATI out of Texas is Boom’s partner for high-temperature materials and components that will be used in Symphony’s high-pressure compressor integrated blade and disk stages as well as the turbine disk. Additional partners in the Boom propulsion program are Standard Aero and Florida Turbine Technologies, which is a unit of Kratos.

The Symphony engine was originally targeted for 35,000 lb-thrust, however, the design team’s analysis subsequently showed a requirement for more thrust. The engine’s increase to 40,000 lb was confirmed by David Lazzara, a Boom staff scientist in aerodynamics.

Lazzara said at a forum in Las Vegas that Symphony “is an ambitious attempt to bring a new engine to market that fits in between existing off-the-shelf options as a 40,000 lb.-thrust class medium bypass ratio engine. It is already designed to be 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) compatible, so that we can plug that in once the infrastructure is ready for use.

“On top of that, it has a key set of design features going from the inlet to the trailing edge at the back of the nozzle that enables it to meet the noise regulations as part of the package overall with Overture.

“We have some experienced partners in the industry that have helped with the turbomachinery design, as well as others who have been a part of engine OEMs and aircraft OEMs that have come together to bring the design in a way that would not be possible by simply pulling an off-the-shelf engine.”

FMI:  boomsupersonic.com/