Hypersonic jet could slash flight time between New York and London to just 1 hour
What would normally take seven hours to get to these two popular cities, will take just an hour with this insane new plane that travels six times the speed of sound.
A hypersonic jet could get travellers from two popular cities that would normally take seven hours, in just under an hour.
Venus Aerospace, a Texan aerospace company, is working on building a hypersonic jet, dubbed the Stargazer, that would travel about six times the speed of sound and reach much higher altitudes.
It could get travellers from New York City to London in under an hour.
The nearly 5632km journey between the two cities takes about seven hours.
Other high-speed aircraft have shortened the journey, but never by this much.
The Stargazer would be around three times faster than the Concorde and five times that of NASA’s upcoming plane nicknamed the “Son of Concorde”.
There are about 21 direct flights from New York City to London every day, according to Flights From.
The new, $US33 million – $A48 million – airliner would drastically improve travel for those wanting to make it across the pond.
Venus Aerospace debuted the engine — Venus Detonation Ramjet 2,000-pound Thrust Engine (VDR2), which would power the plane — at the Up. Summit innovation event in Bentonville, Arkansas, last week.
The Stargazer would take off using traditional jet engines and then transition to the VDR2 once it reaches an appropriate altitude.
The VDR2, which uses rockets and a ramjet, is expected to reach 7400km per hour, about six times the speed of sound (Mach 6).
Along with the Stargazer, the engine will also be used to power high-speed drones and was successfully tested in a small drone earlier this year.
The company is expected to complete a second drone test in 2025.
Passengers travelling on the hypersonic jet won’t just be flying faster — they’ll also be going higher, reaching up to 110,000 feet, which will allow them to see the curvature of Earth.
The Concorde reached about 60,000 feet, and a passenger jet’s regular altitude is around 35,000 feet.
“This engine makes the hypersonic economy a reality,” Dr. Andrew Duggleby, co-founder of Venus Aerospace, said during the unveiling at the innovation gathering Up. Summit.
“We are excited to partner with Velontra to achieve this revolution in high-speed flight, given their expertise in high-speed air combustion.
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
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