Go halfway across the world in just a few hours and be back home in time for dinner? You might be able to do that soon, thanks to the Airbus hypersonic plane.
Similar in design to its predecessor, the Concorde, which was discontinued in 2003, the aircraft from Airbus will have a gothic delta wing. Where it improves on the design of the first hypersonic plane, however, is in its takeoff process. The plane would take off like a regular airplane, traveling down a runway and using turbo jet engines. Once in the air, it begins a sharp ascent and heads above the atmosphere with the aid of its rocket boosters. The designers of the new hypersonic plane hope that this near-vertical climb will enable the aircraft to avoid sonic booms. After the ascent above the atmosphere, ramjet engines, which are typically used in missiles, would take the aircraft to about 18.6 miles, where the hypersonic plane can then cruise at up to Mach 4.5 speed, or 2,970 miles per hour – 4.5 times the speed of sound.
The designers of the new plane have estimated that it can get from Tokyo to Paris in just three hours, and from London to New York in just one hour. Airbus stated in the patent application that it envisions the market for the new hypersonic plane to be mainly for business travelers and VIPs. Perhaps someday even coach travelers can experience the wonders of traveling across the world in just 3 hours……
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