First images of Boom Supersonic Overture cockpit show how different it is from Concorde’s

The first images of the Boom Supersonic Overture’s cockpit have been released, and it’s entirely different from what you’ve seen with Concorde.

Concorde’s cockpits are famous for being very complicated, filled with hundreds of dials, switches, and buttons.

By contrast, US-based Overture keeps it simple – well, as simple as a plane cockpit gets.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie

The future of air travel – the Overture

Boom Supersonic wants to reach its goal of reintroducing supersonic air travel by the time the 2020s come to a close.

On July 23, 2024, the Colorado-based company released key updates about its flagship project, the Overture.

And what better place to unveil its flight deck than at the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK?

It turns out that technological developments are revealed there, when people aren’t watching Airbus A380 planes do stunts.

Speaking at the event, Chief Executive Blake Scholl said: “As we stand here at Farnborough in 2024, it’s now been two decades since either Boeing or Airbus has launched an all-new airliner program.

“We’re in danger of going a generation without new airliners. We’ve stopped progressing and, in many ways, we’ve gone backward. It’s never been more clear that passengers and airlines are not well-served by the duopoly we have today.”

The flight deck is built around technology developed by Boom’s partner Honeywell.

Overture would be the first commercial jet to have dual-force feedback sidesticks, allowing the pilots to have a better perception of how the plane is moving.

During takeoff and landing, pilots on the Overture will wear augmented reality goggles which will give them a live feed of the outside of the plane.

Not the first time this kind of tech has come in handy in industry – as a doctor in Brazil used the Apple Vision Pro in surgery.

Honeywell’s technology is highly digital, meaning there’s no need for hundreds of buttons anymore – like the flight deck of the Concorde.

Instead, touch screens are the way forward – four of them in fact, each 17 inches.

The stick, throttle, and landing gear will remain as physical controls, however.

Comparing the Overcast to the Concorde

The relatively simplistic cockpit of the Overture is worlds apart from the standard Concorde.

At the time of its debut in the aviation industry in 1969, the Concorde was considered very advanced.

It required a three-member team to work on it, with a flight engineer sitting in the cockpit alongside the two pilots.

There were approximately 600 dials, switches, and gauges to keep an eye on.

To be up to the task of managing this system, pilots were put through a grueling training course that lasted for six months.

This was three times longer than courses for other planes at the time.

With six years left until the decade comes to an end, it’ll be interesting to see if the Overture becomes a reality before January 1, 2030 rolls around.