Former Boeing Engineer Joins Boom Supersonic to Lead Engine Development

Boom Supersonic, a company aiming to bring back commercial supersonic air travel, has hired a former Boeing engineer to lead the development of the Symphony, the propulsion system for its proposed aircraft Overture.

The company has announced the appointment of Scott Powell, who has 38 years of experience at Boeing, including four years of being the Engineering Propulsion leader of the Boeing 787 program, as its new Senior Vice President of Symphony.

According to Blake Scholl, the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Boom Supersonic, the company has made significant progress on the design of the engines that will power its Overture supersonic jet. “Adding Scott’s leadership and experience overseeing certifications for a wide range of civil and military propulsion systems only further strengthens our path forward with Symphony,” Scholl continued.

Meanwhile, Powell said that Boom Supersonic “understands the significant upside that can be achieved through an engine specifically customized for Overture”.

Several engine makers, namely Rolls-Royce and CFM International (a joint venture between General Electric (GE) Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines) had said that they would not provide engines for the Overture. As a result, Boom Supersonic partnered with Kratos Defense to design and build the Symphony.

The partnership between Boom Supersonic and Kratos was announced in December 2022, with Scholl saying at the time that designing an engine specifically for the supersonic airliner “offers by far the best value proposition for our customers”.

During the Paris Air Show in June 2023, Boom Supersonic unveiled several more suppliers for the Overture, including Aernnova, Aciturri and Leonardo. The three companies will help the plane-maker to build the wing, empennage and fuselage and system integrations, respectively.

In addition, the company said that its order book stands at 130 aircraft, including orders and pre-orders from major airlines such as American Airlines, Japan Airlines and United Airlines.

According to its website, the Overture supersonic jet is set to be rolled out in 2026, with the first flight due the following year and certification in 2029. Boom Supersonic has described the Overture as a supersonic passenger jet that can seat between 64 and 80 passengers while flying up to 4,250 nautical miles (7,867 kilometers) at a cruising speed of Mach 1.7.