Originally Posted by
USA_flyer
Not being privy to the commercial agreements, I don't know what the terms of the deals are.
The 777 cost $5 billion in development prior to the first demonstrator being built.
A320 cost $2 billion to develop in the 1980's.
Excluding engine development costs.
Both entities with deep engineering resources and a library of patents building upon existing designs.
Boom has raised $270 million in total, from the "orders" and other entities. For a radically different, clean sheet design.
The undisclosed deposits are "non-refundable", which, coupled with the incredibly small amount of total money Boom has collected, sounds like Airlines are willing to toss away an advertising campaign's worth of money for the ability to say they're on the "supersonic" bandwagon.
The whole thing is very suspect, and the closer one looks into the details, the shakier it appears.