Telegraph.co.uk: EU Hypersonic flight: Brussels - Sydney in 5 hours - Tom Chivers
EU Hypersonic flight: Brussels - Sydney in 5 hours - Tom Chivers
A British-designed, 3,800mph (6,115kph) hypersonic airliner could one day ferry holidaymakers from Brussels to Sydney in five hours.The A2, designed by Oxfordshire company Reaction Engines, would hold 300 passengers and travel at five times the speed of sound.The company aims to have the plane in service within 25 years, and believes that an Antipodean return trip would cost about as much as an existing business-class ticket.The project, known as the Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies or LAPCAT, is funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) to encourage the use of space-travel technology in aircraft design. According to Reaction Engines the A2 would be capable of sustained travel at Mach 5, or 3,800mph - more than double the late Concorde’s top speed.
Labels: Aircraft Industry, EU
