Boom Overture wants to return a supersonic passenger plane (SST) to the air for the first time since Concorde ceased operations 21 years ago. At this week's Farnborough International Air Show, Boom revealed that the Overture will soon have self-landing capabilities and will also come with an augmented reality (AR) headset that will allow pilots to see through the body of the aircraft.
SkyLens II AR headset
The Overture boom is designed to automatically land every time without pilot assistance to ensure a smooth landing. But if pilots are needed, AR headsets allow them to see through the body of the aircraft.
Because the Overture is designed like a fighter plane, the pilot's view will be obstructed when landing. On Concorde the nose can be lowered mechanically to provide a clearer view when landing. Boom does not want to use a complex and heavy mechanical system. Thus a 360-degree high-definition camera system allows the view from below the aircraft to be beamed to the pilot's AR headset.
The same system is used by Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter pilots and later on the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) Tempest. Boom has signed an MOU with Universal Avionics to supply the ClearVision Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS) which consists of a SkyLens II headset and an EVS-5000 camera.
Also announced is that the Overture cockpit will use four 17″ screens to display flight information. The FBW Overture controller will also be the first in the aeronautical industry to have a haptic feedback system.
All of the systems that will be used on the Overture are currently being tested on the XB-1 test aircraft which successfully made its first flight in March this year. If all goes well, Overture will make its first flight in 2026 and start carrying passengers by 2029. So far United Airlines, Japan Airlines and American Airlines are among the airlines interested in using Overture.