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Boom Supersonic's XB-1 breaks sound barrier in test flight

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XB-1 test flight marks milestone for Boom's commercial

airliner

plans

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Boom Supersonic has 130 orders from major airlines for

Overture

Jan 28 (Reuters) - About 35,000 feet (10,670 meters)

over the Mojave Desert, northwest of Los Angeles, Boom

Supersonic's XB-1 became the first privately funded airplane to

break the sound barrier during a test flight on Tuesday.

"She was real happy supersonic," Boom Chief Test Pilot

Tristan "Geppetto" Brandenburg said after landing, in a video

posted by Boom Supersonic. "That's the best she's ever flown,

was supersonic."

After getting to altitude, Brandenburg opened up the test

plane's throttles, accelerating to Mach 1.1, or about 845 mph

(1,360 kph) -- faster than the speed at which sound travels.

In 1947, Chuck Yeager became the first human to break the

sound barrier when he pushed the Bell X-1 past Mach 1 during a

flight over the Mojave Desert.

Boom Supersonic's XB-1 is a stepping stone in its plan to

develop a commercially viable supersonic airliner, the Overture,

capable of carrying 64-80 passengers across the Atlantic in

about 3-1/2 hours.

The company has 130 orders and pre-orders from American

Airlines ( AAL ), United Airlines and Japan Airlines ( JPNRF )

.

Last year, it completed construction on its Overture

Superfactory in Greensboro, North Carolina, where it plans to

build 66 Overture aircraft per year.