Airbus says ‘supersonic jet’ could fly to London in one hour
Plane maker Airbus has come up with yet another quirky design for the aircraft of the future.
The company has filed a patent for an ‘ultra rapid air vehicle’ capable of flying between London and New York in just an hour.
Billed as the ‘Son of Concorde’, the new supersonic jet would fly at 3,400 mph – more than four times the speed of sound, making it more than twice as fast as Concorde.
However, it would carry only a fifth as many passengers – 20 at most – leading to speculation that fares would be out of the reach of all but the wealthiest travellers.
Airbus, which has filed a patent for the jet, said it was aimed at business travellers and VIPs who wanted to make long-haul day trips.
The plans show the plane would be propelled vertically by rocket engines to supersonic speeds and then hydrogen-powered wing mounted ramjets would take over and propel the aircraft to its destination.
It would then travel at speeds of up to Mach 4.5 before slowing and joining regular jets as it neared its destination.
Airbus claims the new plane’s shape and vertical trajectory would dramatically reduce the sonic boom that travelling at high speeds creates and which caused many countries to ban Concorde.
It says the aircraft would be able to complete trips such as Tokyo to Los Angeles in just three hours – a journey that currently takes 11 hours 30 minutes.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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