MOJAVE, Calif. (WGHP) — Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 aircraft is speeding up toward the sound barrier with each successive test flight, and Saturday’s flight was the closest yet.
The XB-1 aircraft, described by Boom as “the world’s first independently developed supersonic jet,” has completed four successful test flights this year at the Mojave Air & Space Port in California.
Its first successful flight, which happened on March 22 , hit 238 knots indicated airspeed and reached 7,120 feet.
The second flight, in August , reached 232 KIAS, just below the first flight’s speed, and hit a personal record with a maximum altitude of 10,400 feet.
During the third flight on Sept. 13, XB-1 again hit 232 KIAS but crushed its previous altitude record at 15,000 feet.
Now, on Saturday, XB-1 achieved its highest and fastest flight yet. The craft hit a speed of 313 KIAS with a peak altitude of 16,150 feet. The speed of sound, which varies depending on the altitude, is Mach 1, and Boom reports this latest flight reached Mach 0.617, more than halfway to breaking the sound barrier.