Sydney to London in four hours just got one step closer

FROM Sydney to London in four hours? Yes please. Air travel is about to get a whole lot faster.

A HIGH powered jet plane that will be able to take us anywhere in the world in four hours could be coming soon.

The prospect of the plane took a giant step towards reality with the European Space Agency (ESA) granting approval for the plane to be equipped with a particular type of engine.

The ESA operates as an independent auditor for Reaction Engines’ Sabre (Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine) technology, which works like a jet engine in the atmosphere and a rocket in space. While the British company is yet to complete a full version of the engine, it has constructed a critical component and in the wake of a feasibility study, has been approved to be used on a Skylon plane.

The company has not yet disclosed how the engine works — though it is said to involve tightly-packed, very small pipes — and so the ESA’s approval has been an important public declaration of the validity of the project.

It will be some time until the plane is a reality but the company says this technology will have major implications for air travel and is thought to be the only piece of technology of its kind in development.

Reaction Engines will now look to raise AUD$480 million to fund a smaller version of the engine over the next three years and hopes to have one for sale in 10 years time.