Hypersonic Jet Concept Could Chop Travel Times

[Angleae]

Researchers may give a hand to jet-setting Europeans looking for a new place to get away for the weekend. European scientists have said a flight from Europe to Sydney in under five hours could be possible in 25 years.

The A2 plane, designed by engineering company Reaction Engines based in Oxfordshire, southern England, could carry 300 passengers at a top speed of almost 4,000 mph (6,400 kmh), five times the speed of sound, engineers who designed the hypersonic jet said on Tuesday, Feb. 5.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3109529,00.html

[NashVegas]

1. On What Type of Fuel?

[bbinacan]

3. If you read the article

you would know that it is liquid hydrogen.:think:

[exothermic]

2. And it will be powered by camel farts.

What a wonderful concept.

[Occam Bandage]

4. The hydrogen-fuel engines seem interesting, but I don't think that this is going

to be all that popular. When it comes to travel, people are (and have always been) far more concerned about cost than speed. It costs less to fly at .85 Mach than it does at 5.00 Mach.

[dysfunctional press]

5. not only that- you'd get to australia so quickly that you'd have to pay for an extra hotel night...

the cost vs. speed thing does have it's limits. it's generally cheaper to travel by bus or train- but people still choose to fly.

[RC]

7. Yeah, I've always wanted to get to Australia by train.

Buses is too slow because of all the stops. :eyes:

[dysfunctional press]

8. when i was a travel agent, i had a woman ask me if amtrak went to hawaii.

obviously,(i would hope) my comment about trains/busses vs. flying in regard to cost vs. speed was meant as an in general travel comment, NOT in reference to travel to ausralia.

[yella_dawg]

6. My prediction?

Lighter than air craft. They're already running in Europe and there is a flight in the works from Europe to South America.

Hypersonic means really expensive. The common man will have to fall back on blimps if he flies at all until the energy crisis is resolved.

[Angleae]

9. Problem is that we're running out of helium.

Can't use hydrogen (Hindenburg) and no other alternative exists.