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London–New York in One Hour? Yup

Airbus has patented designs for a new supersonic aircraft that promises to shave hours from long-haul flights while boosting fuel economy at the same time.

It’s been more than a decade since the last of the super-sonic passenger jets took flight. With the Concorde now relegated to museum exhibits, it seems that the possibility of a faster-than-sound flight across the Atlantic now exists only in history books and the imagination. However, if a recent patent granted to Airbus is any indication, the future holds the promise of aircraft that will someday make yesterday’s SST seem as speedy as a steamship.

airbus' supersonic jet (photo:  us patent and trademark office)

Patented designs for the “ultra-rapid air vehicle and related method of aerial locomotion” call for a passenger plane capable of traveling at speeds of up to Mach 4.5, nearly five times the speed of sound. Developed by Airbus’ Marco Prampolini and Yohann Coraboeuf, the supersonic aircraft relies on a three-stage engine system that includes retractable turbojets, ramjets and rocket engines to bring the jet to a cruising altitude of over 100,000 feet.

If the designs are realized, the 20-seat aircraft would be capable of flying from London to New York in around one hour; the Mach 2 Concorde flew the same route in about thee and a half hours.

YouTube’s PatentYogi breaks down the specifics of Airbus’ patent below:

Much like Boeing’s recent patent for a Xenon laser-powered jet engine, Airbus’ supersonic aircraft depends on technology that has not yet been perfected and verges on science fiction. Its plans call for an airframe that would eliminate loud sonic booms that plague supersonic flight, as well as engines powered by the unspecified combination of hydrogen-based fuels.

Despite the ambitious designs from Airbus, the possibility of turning long-haul flights into short hops across the Atlantic still remains slim — at least for the near future. Even so, it’s worth remembering nearly 30 years ago, then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan unveiled a remarkably similar proposal in his 1986 State of the Union Address, promising: “a new Orient Express that could, by the end of the next decade, take off from Dulles Airport and accelerate up to 25 times the speed of sound, attaining low-earth orbit or flying to Tokyo within two hours.”

[Photos: Airbus via U.S. Patent & Trademark Office; Video: PatentYogi YouTube]

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2 Comments
C
corbetti August 6, 2015

it's a nice paper design, one of thousands that have been floated over the years. The previous commenter is right - the economics are way too difficult to make work for this - the R&D costs alone would bankrupt Airbus without massive subsidy. This is why Boeing never proceeded beyond early R&D (subsidized) for the High Speed Civil Transport (their attempt to build a supersonic plane).

S
sdsearch August 5, 2015

Also keep in mind that what doomed the Concorde in the end was economics more than technology. So the question is not just whether it can be done, or even just whether it can be done anytime soon, but whether it can be done efficiently enough for the airlines to expect to make a profit flying such planes.