Boom Supersonic has kicked off construction of its Overture Superfactory today in Greensboro, North Carolina. This manufacturing facility will house the final assembly line, as well as a test facility and customer delivery center for the company’s flagship supersonic airliner, the Overture.

Building the Overture assembly line

On Thursday, Boom Supersonic began building the Overture Superfactory, a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located on a 62-acre campus at the Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) in North Carolina. Boom Supersonic aims to develop the so-called world’s fastest airliner, the Overture, which will fly at twice the speed of today’s airliners. It has an order book of 130 aircraft, including options and future purchases from American Airlines, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines.

Kathy Savitt, President of Boom Supersonic, said the beginning of the Overture Superfactory represents a significant step forward in building a sustainable and accessible supersonic journey for the world. Boom expects to hire over 2,400 workers at the Superfactory by 2032 and claims to have launched the recruiting process already. The factory is expected to be inaugurated next year.

Meanwhile, North Carolina economists estimate that the entire Boom manufacturing program will grow the state’s economy by at least $32.3 billion over 20 years. Nonetheless, the Overture program has faced recent challenges, including losing Rolls-Royce as the manufacturer of the engine which will power the aircraft.

In December 2022, Boom secured a new engine maker. The company will work with Florida Turbine Technologies, StandardAero, and GE Additive, a unit of GE Aerospace, to develop the technology it needs for the Overture’s engines.

Do you want to know more about Boom in 2022? Check out our review of the company’s developments last year!

A render of Boom's Superfactory
Photo: Boom.

Why select North Carolina?

Boom chose North Carolina as the site for Overture aircraft manufacturing because of its large skilled talent pool, exceptional universities, community colleges, and technical schools. The proximity to the Eastern Seaboard for supersonic flight testing over the water was also a crucial factor. The United States banned supersonic flight over land in 1973 to avoid the sonic boom.

When Boom announced the selection of Greensboro, American President Joe Biden commented this will make Greensboro “a place where the future is being written.” North Carolina Senate Leader Phil Berger said,

“It’s an exciting time to live in North Carolina and see the influx of innovative companies establish roots in our state. The high-paying and skilled jobs that Boom Supersonic will create will make a significant economic impact in the Triad and across the entire state.”

A render of Boom's Overture supersonic aircraft
Photo: Boom Supersonic

A closer view of the Overture program

The Overture will have four engines running on sustainable aviation fuel, allowing the aircraft to cruise at speeds of Mach 1.7 over water. It will have a range of 4,250 nautical miles, and the design of the quadjet will help reduce the noise. Overture will also use the world’s first automated noise reduction system for take-off, meeting regulatory requirements to minimize noise pollution.

Boom expects to begin production of the aircraft by 2024, with the first rollout to take place in 2025. If everything goes according to Boom’s plan –and that’s a big if at the moment– commercial flights will start as early as 2029.

Are you excited about the development of the Overture program? Let us know in the comments below.