Dublin to Sydney in five hours

red hander · February 05, 2008, 02:08:13 PM

A British team has designed a hypersonic passenger aeroplane that could one day fly passengers between Europe and Australia in less than five hours.

The A2 was designed by Oxfordshire-based Reaction Engines and would carry 300 passengers at a top speed of almost 4,000mph.

The company says the aircraft could be operating within 25 years and ticket prices would be comparable with an existing business class ticket, currently about Â£3,500.

The LAPCAT (Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies) project is being funded by the European Space Agency.

The ESA wants to encourage companies to push the boundaries of commercial air travel using technology more commonly associated with space travel.

Reaction Engines says the A2 is capable of sustained travel at Mach 5 - or 3,800mph - which is more than twice the speed of Concorde.

At 143-metres long, it is roughly twice the size of the biggest current jumbo jets.

It runs on a liquid hydrogen Scimitar engine still being developed that is based on existing technology.

The ESA's website says hypersonic flight is generally considered to begin at Mach 5.

This is when aerodynamic heating becomes important in aircraft design, with temperatures in the boundary layer and on the surface of an object reaching 1,000C.

Hypersonic flight is not new. The first man-made object to reach hypersonic speeds was the two-stage US "Bumper" rocket, assembled from a captured German V-2 rocket in 1949.

Astronauts and cosmonauts have all reached hypersonic speeds while passing through the atmosphere on their way to or from orbit.

Current research, however, focuses on sustained hypersonic flight within the Earth's atmosphere.

stephenite · February 06, 2008, 03:05:40 AM

I love flying but think I'd have to seriously consider getting on something like this

Puckoon · February 06, 2008, 05:05:18 AM

So, what are the odds of surviving a hypersonic aeroplane crash?

DrinkingHarp · February 06, 2008, 07:02:07 AM

Quote from: Puckoon on February 06, 2008, 05:05:18 AM
So, what are the odds of surviving a hypersonic aeroplane crash?

The same as a normal flight zero to none.

Like the guy's buddy who died from falling off a building , he said it wasnt the fall that killed him, it was the sudden stop.

Aerlik · February 07, 2008, 12:57:18 AM

Lads youse'll be relieved to know that I'll be retired from commercial aviation by the time this gets up and going.

Puckoon · February 07, 2008, 05:32:23 AM

That was the case of the missing anti matter and the illuminati.
I enjoyed it.

Hardy · February 07, 2008, 10:31:46 AM

It doesn't really matter whether you crash at 500 mph or 5,000 mph. The only difference will be the size of the pieces.

I always find those lifejacket demonstrations funny - the idea that you'll survive a crash into the sea. I know I read somewhere (perhaps Muppet can confirm if it's true) that there's no case on record of anyone ever surviving a commercial airliner ditching, with one exception somewhere in the pacific where a plane ditched in shallow water off a beach and some or all of the occupants were rescued by locals in small boats/canoes, whatever.

Minder · February 07, 2008, 10:43:02 AM

Quote from: Hardy on February 07, 2008, 10:31:46 AM
It doesn't really matter whether you crash at 500 mph or 5,000 mph. The only difference will be the size of the pieces.

I always find those lifejacket demonstrations funny - the idea that you'll survive a crash into the sea. I know I read somewhere (perhaps Muppet can confirm if it's true) that there's no case on record of anyone ever surviving a commercial airliner ditching, with one exception somewhere in the pacific where a plane ditched in shallow water off a beach and some or all of the occupants were rescued by locals in small boats/canoes, whatever.

Hardy i remember seeing footage of an airliner that was hijacked by terrorists running out of fuel and ditching into the sea just off Ethiopia i think, they were close to the beach, some survived but their were fatalities. In fairness this plane was gliding towards the water.

AZOffaly · February 07, 2008, 10:45:55 AM

I suppose the fact that there are so few airplane crashes worldwide, and most of those seem to be near to the airports or runways, means that there's less opportunity for water based crashes.

However, on the off chance that I survive a plane crash that just flops into the water, I'd like a life jacket. And a fishing rod.

clarshack · February 07, 2008, 10:53:16 AM

i'd rather have a parachute with me on a plane than a lifejacket

the Deel Rover · February 07, 2008, 10:53:46 AM

Quote from: Hardy on February 07, 2008, 10:31:46 AM
It doesn't really matter whether you crash at 500 mph or 5,000 mph. The only difference will be the size of the pieces.

I always find those lifejacket demonstrations funny - the idea that you'll survive a crash into the sea. I know I read somewhere (perhaps Muppet can confirm if it's true) that there's no case on record of anyone ever surviving a commercial airliner ditching, with one exception somewhere in the pacific where a plane ditched in shallow water off a beach and some or all of the occupants were rescued by locals in small boats/canoes, whatever.

Billy Connolly thinks the same way Hardy i seem to recall him saying " aye a lifejacket is a lot of good on a f**king plane, what happens if ye crash over glasgow, you put on your lifejacket and say ohh i hope i land in a wee puddle"