Jan. 25—GUILFORD COUNTY — The Piedmont Triad Airport Authority approved a lease agreement Tuesday with Boom Supersonic ahead of an announcement the company plans to make at the airport later this week.
Gov. Roy Cooper and other dignitaries are scheduled to be on hand for the ceremony and announcement on Thursday at Piedmont Triad International Airport. Company officials did not say what the subject of the announcement will be, only that it will celebrate a milestone.
During its monthly meeting, the authority finalized a pact under which the airport would lease a 62-acre site to Boom Supersonic for an initial term of 40 years for the company to build its proposed supersonic aircraft. Boom Supersonic would have an option through Dec. 31, 2030, to add another 70-acre site to the lease.
Boom Supersonic also would have a pair of five-year options to extend the term of the lease beyond the initial 40 years, according to the agreement. Rent during the initial term would be 10 cents per square foot adjusted for inflation.
The authority and Boom Supersonic reached their agreement as Cooper, state Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger Sr., R-Rockingham, and other leaders plan to attend a ceremony Thursday. The event is to mark what Boom Supersonic characterizes as celebration of a milestone for the company's plans to develop a new generation of supersonic jets. Boom Supersonic announced plans for the ceremony on Tuesday morning.
The activity this week with Boom Supersonic comes a year to the month after the Colorado-based startup announced it had picked PTIA as the site for its manufacturing plant to build a new generation of supersonic passenger aircraft, which the company has named Overture.
Boom Supersonic has pledged to create 1,760 jobs and invest $500 million in the project by the end of the decade. Grading on the site is underway off of Interstate 73.
Boom Supersonic is trying to achieve a feat that has eluded other aviation companies — develop a jet that doesn't cause deafening sonic booms and can be affordable for passengers in the commercial travel industry. The project could have a $32 billion economic impact over a 20-year period, state officials have said.
The project already has experienced growing pains. Last month, Boom Supersonic announced that the company would develop its own jet engine, called Symphony, with the assistance of three businesses — Florida Turbine Technologies for engine design, GE Additive for additive technology design consulting and StandardAero for maintenance operations — after its previous engine partner backed out and other major engine manufacturers expressed no interest.
Boom Supersonic plans to start construction next year on the manufacturing complex at PTIA, with production of aircraft beginning in 2024, rollout of the first completed jets in 2026 and Federal Aviation Administration certification to launch commercial flights in 2029.
[email protected] — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul
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