A carbon-zero flight from London to New York in just 3.5 hours might sound too good to be true. 

But believe it or not, it could become a reality in just four years.

Boom Supersonic’s Overture, dubbed the ‘Son of Concorde’, is tipped to be the ‘world’s fastest airliner’, reaching speeds of Mach 1.7 (about 1,300mph).

A scaled-down prototype of Overture, called XB-1 Baby Boom, has completed ‘key milestones’ during testing as it progresses towards its first flight, the firm says. 

Should XB-1 Baby Boom pass its tests, Overture will be unveiled in 2026, before the first flight of the aircraft in 2027 and commercial passenger flights in 2029. 

Earlier this year, XB-1 Baby Boom moved from the company’s hangar in Centennial, Colorado to the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California to continue preparations for flight. 

It’s just completed ‘taxi testing’ – a step in aircraft development that looks at whether the plane can go down the runway at speed (without leaving the ground), the firm explained. 

‘The recent progress made towards XB-1’s first flight reflects the team’s collective efforts to build and safely fly the world’s first independently developed supersonic jet,’ said Blake Scholl, Boom Supersonic founder and CEO. 

At 62 feet long, XB-1 Baby Boom is around one-third of the size of the Overture (201 feet), which will eventually transport up to 80 paying passengers, whether for business or leisure.  

Overture, which is still under development, will be built to operate on 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), made from sustainable and renewable sources, rather than fossil fuels.

Crucially, Overture will have a quieter ‘supersonic boom’ than the original Concorde, which was known for its unsettling noise. 

A sonic boom happens when the shock waves from an object travelling through the air faster than the speed of sound merge together before they reach the ground. 

Overture is driven by four powerful wing-mounted engines, meaning lower thrust is needed for each. 

Overall, this reduces noise levels, according to Boom Supersonic. 

However, Overture will cruise at Mach 1.7 (about 1,300mph) – less than Concorde’s max cruising speed of Mach 2.04 (1,550 mph). 

Regardless, industry heavyweights who are interested in reducing their carbon footprint have snapped up Overture planes when they become ready, including United Airlines and American Airlines. 

Along with successful taxi flights, the firm’s one-third model, XB-1 Baby Boom, has received an ‘experimental airworthiness certificate’, given to more unconventional flying machines so the manufacturer can perform flight tests. 

The certification was issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) following a ‘detailed aircraft inspection’, Boom Supersonic said. 

Letters of agreement with airspace authorities are also in place allowing for flights of the aircraft over the Mojave desert. 

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1’s historic first flight will occur in the same airspace where the first airplane flew faster than the speed of sound. 

Captain Charles ‘Chuck’ Yeager first broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 – from which the new craft borrows its name – back in October 1947.  

The legendary rocket engine-powered aircraft, designed and built in 1945, achieved a speed of 700 miles (1,127 kilometers) per hour. 

‘It’s fitting that XB-1 is now progressing toward first flight at the Mojave Air & Space Port, home to more than 50 first flights and other significant aviation events,’ said Bill Shoemaker, chief test pilot at Boom Supersonic. 

‘I’m looking forward to flying XB-1 here, building on the achievements of other talented engineers and pilots who inspire us every day to make supersonic travel mainstream.’ 

Boom Supersonic is one of several firms working on developing commercial liners that are being dubbed ‘Son of Concorde’, in a race to be the first successor of the iconic British-French creation, which made its first successful flight in March 1969.

Concorde had its first commercial flights in 1976, but it was grounded in October 2003 in the aftermath of the catastrophic Air France Flight 4590 crash. 

Other reasons for the demise of Concorde were high fuel costs, concern over its noise and a preference for lower fares over speed. 

No government or manufacturer has since been able to build a commercial plane that can travel faster than the speed of sound.

President Joe Biden has promised every American will have access to fast internet by 2030 by allocating $42.5 billion in funding to states.

Biden held a briefing Monday to discuss the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, or BEAD, which was approved in 2021 by Congress through the infrastructure bill.

The amount each state receives will depend on the number of unserved locations and jurisdictions lacking internet speeds above 100 Mbps.

Texas, which ranks among the top 10 with the fastest, is set to receive the most funding of $3.1 billion and California, which places 50th, is getting the second highest – $1.9 billion.

Figures compiled by Wise Voter show that Maryland, Virginia and DC have the fastest speeds nationwide, while the slowest speeds are in Montana, South Dakota and California.

Internet speeds are based on several explanations, such as those with higher income are more likely to purchase higher-speed service packages, and providers offer higher bandwidth services in more affluent cities than in poorer areas.

‘High-speed Internet is no longer a luxury… Yet, more than 8.5 million households and small businesses are in areas where there is no high-speed Internet infrastructure, and millions more struggle with limited or unreliable Internet options,’ Biden said Monday.

Allocated funds range from $27 million to over $3.3 billion, with each state receiving a minimum of $107 million. 

Approximately 19 states are set to receive over $1 billion, with the top 10 allocations in Alabama, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington. 

The US US Virgin Islands is set to receive the least amount, $27.1 million, along with Maryland, which will get $267.7 million.

White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients said: ‘We have a historic opportunity here to make a real difference in people’s lives and making sure that we deliver on that potential is what we’re about every day and to make sure that people feel that at their kitchen table, in their communities, in their backyards.’

Zients compared the broadband effort to President Franklin Roosevelt’s efforts in 1936 to bring electricity to rural America. 

Broadband companies such as Verizon, Comcast, Charter Communications and AT&T have been reluctant to provide access to low-population, rural communities because the investments are expensive and the regions do not offer a lot of subscribers. 

The lack of broadband access drew attention during COVID shutdowns that forced students into online schooling.

States are expected to submit initial plans later this year to unlock 20 percent of the funding. 

The remaining money will be released once the plans are finalized, which could take until 2025. 

Under the program’s rules, states must prioritize connecting predominantly unserved areas before bolstering service in underserved areas or those without internet speeds of 100 Mbps/20 Mbps and community anchor institutions, such as schools and libraries. 

Wise Voter provided data about each US state’s average download speed, which is calculated by taking ever town and city’s speeds. 

Maryland ranks as the top state with the fastest internet, which is partially due to Verizon deploying high-speed, fiber optic broadband internet service across the state in April.

This initiative provided nearly 4,000 new households and businesses in Charles, Garrett, Cecil, Howard, St. Mary’s and Washington County access to the Fios network.

This rural broadband project is built in partnership with the state of Maryland and the FCC to deliver fast, fiber broadband service (with symmetrical download and upload speeds between 300Mbps to 2Gbps) to residents in rural parts of the state. 

The entire state of Maryland averages 506.70 Mbps.

Virginia is second with 505.60 Mbps, Washington D.C. has 473.80 Mbps and Delaware ranks third in the US with 469.70 Mbps.

Washington state averages 451 Mbps, Rhode Island has 433.30 Mbps and Pennsylvania has the seventh fastest, with 430.80 Mbps.

New Jersey ranks eighth with 427.80 Mbps, followed by Texas with 425.90 Mbps and Georgia with 414.90 Mbps.

Wise Voter has ranked California with the slowest average internet speed in the US, with just 93 Mbps.

Reports show that 301 school districts within the state have slow internet speeds – there are about 940 total.

The University of California found that 25 percent of the 39 million people in the state do not have internet, and 10 percent rely on a mobile phone connection.

However, San Francisco has an average download speed of 232.5 Mbps and San Jose, where Silicon Valley is located, has 180.5 Mbps.

Montana is 50th with 100.5 Mbps, South Dakota with 191.7 Mbps and Iowa with 193.9 Mbps.

Alaska had long held last place in the US but improved its speeds dramatically over the past two years, possibly due to Elon Musk’s Starlink going live in 2022. 

‘London’s fastest airport security’: Travel expert tests ‘fancy’ new scanners at City Airport that don’t require passengers to remove laptops and liquids from bags

By Ailbhe Macmahon For Mailonline

Updated: 13:08 EDT, 25 May 2023