Supersonic jet maker negotiating with NC to build a manufacturing plant in Greensboro

An upstart, Denver-based airplane maker is in negotiations with state officials to secure a place at Greensboro’s Piedmont Triad International Airport for a new manufacturing facility where it plans to produce supersonic passenger jets — an updated and improved version of the 1970s-era Concorde SST, five people in government and business confirmed for The News & Observer.

Legislation appropriating $106.75 million for PTI has been approved by the General Assembly to prepare up to 1,000 acres at the airport for a manufacturing plant that is expected to bring at least a $500 million investment and create at least 1,750 jobs.

If the deal is completed — which the N&O’s sources said was likely in the next 30 to 90 days — a 6-year-old company called Boom Supersonic, founded by a former Groupon director, will use the site to produce its new Overture jet. The 205-foot passenger plane can travel at more than 1,300 mph — faster than the speed of sound and twice the speed of today’s fastest airliners. The plane can carry 65 to 88 passengers and fly as far as 4,888 miles at a cruising altitude of 60,000 feet.

If the agreement between North Carolina and the company is finalized, work on Boom’s plant could begin in 2022 with the first Overture rolling out in 2025 and flying in 2026.

In June, United Airlines announced it would buy up to 50 Overture jets with plans to begin supersonic passenger travel by 2029. Other Boom customers include Japan Airlines and the United States Air Force.

Boom hopes to reintroduce passenger travel at speeds faster than sound while distinguishing itself from Concorde, the defunct British Airways- and Air France-operated jet notorious for its ear-splitting noise and astronomical ticket prices.

“Here is the future I believe in,” Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl says in a video on the company’s website. “A future in which you can get anywhere on the planet in four hours for just a hundred bucks — a world in which the fastest flight is also the cheapest and there’s no reason ever to board a slow plane.”

What sets Overture apart from Concorde?

The Concorde, which carried passengers from 1976 to 2003, was a marvel of mid-20th century engineering.

“Concorde was the epitome of supersonic travel,” said a British Airways Concorde pilot, Capt. Mike Bannister. “The ability to fly at 1,350 mph, to arrive before you left, to travel faster than the Earth rotates.”

But the supersonic jet had insurmountable shortcomings. The deafening roar of sonic boom — produced along the flight path whenever Concorde exceeded the speed of sound — made flight above land impossible. The Federal Aviation Administration banned most supersonic flight over the continental United States in 1973. And ticket prices for the Concorde cost about $13,000 in current dollars.

In 2000, Concorde suffered its most prominent setback when an Air France jet crashed on takeoff after striking debris on the runway, killing 113 people.

Boom says Overture’s more efficient technology and sustainable fuel substitutes permit lower operating costs and more reasonable ticket fares.

“Final ticket prices will be set by airlines, but we’re designing Overture to allow airlines to offer fares comparable to today’s business class,” Boom’s website says. “Our long-term vision is that the fastest flight is also the most affordable.”

To mitigate the thunderous crack of sonic booms, Overture will reduce speeds when traveling over land and near the coast, the company says. Still, Boom’s planes will cut many of United Airlines’ current travel times in half.

“Among the many future potential routes for United are Newark to London in just three and a half hours, Newark to Frankfurt in four hours and San Francisco to Tokyo in just six hours,” a United press release said. “Overture will also be designed with features such as in-seat entertainment screens, ample personal space, and contactless technology.”

Why North Carolina?

Boom Supersonic has been searching for a site on which to build its new manufacturing plant since last year, according to Brian Durrence, senior vice president of Overture development.

The company may have selected Greensboro after North Carolina’s legislature fast-tracked the budget bill, House Bill 334, appropriating $106.75 million for an airplane manufacturer code named “Project Thunderbird.”

Five people in government and business with knowledge of the deal confirmed for the N&O that Boom Supersonic is the company HB334 targets.

Of the $106.75 million appropriation, $56.75 million must be used to construct one or more hangers and $15 million is for site work. The final $35 million is allocated for roadwork improvements, to be handled by the N.C. Department of Transportation.

HB 334 stipulates average wages at the manufacturing site will be about $60,000. The bill does not outline how many employees Boom must hire, but it is expected to create “over a thousand jobs,” according to state Sen. Gladys Robinson, D-Greensboro, as reported by Fox 8.

State Sen. Donny Lambeth, chairperson of the Senate Appropriations Committee, declined to identify the company behind “Project Thunderbird,” but told a News & Observer reporter it would mean big things for the state.

“It will have a major impact on this region and will be an economic boom for this region,” he said in a text message.

Aubrey Scanlan, a spokesperson for Boom, would not confirm the company’s plans to build in North Carolina, saying the company “does not comment on speculation or rumors.”

A spokesperson for the governor’s office declined to comment.

Boom Supersonic would join several aerospace companies already operating at PTI, including HondaJet, HAECO, Cessna and FedEx.