Top Engine Makers Signal No Interest in Boom

Sep. 20—Three of the top makers of aircraft engines have told an aviation news website that they are not interested in developing engines for civil supersonic aircraft.

The news site FlightGlobal contacted representatives of GE Aviation, Honeywell and Safran Aircraft Engines after Rolls-Royce announced earlier this month it was no longer working to develop an engine for Boom Supersonic, a Colorado-based startup that intends to build a new generation of supersonic passenger aircraft.

A fourth engine maker, Pratt & Whitney, did not comment except to say that supersonic engines were not part of the company's overall business strategy, FlightGlobal reported.

Boom Supersonic has said it will build a plant at Piedmont Triad International Airport to manufacture the aircraft, which Boom calls Overture.

Boom Supersonic says that Overture remains on track and that the company will announce a new engine partner soon.

Janet Bednarek, an aviation historian and professor at the University of Dayton, told the Raleigh News & Observer last week that losing an engine maker could be "a major hiccup" to Boom's plans.

And aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisory told FlightGlobal that few engine manufacturers would have the capability to take on the Overture project.

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