Airbus designs Concorde 2 – London to New York in 1 hour
Airbus has designed the supersonic successor to the now legendary Concorde. Using some clever tech and three different engine types, this aircraft is capable of flying at 4.5 times the speed of sound and get passengers from London to New York in 60 minutes.
The Concorde 2 would take off normally from a run way and then, thanks to a trio of different engines, each fuelled by different hydrogen compounds, hit speeds of 3,425 miles per hour – three times faster than the original Concorde, according to the video below by Patent Yogi.
Two turbo jets would propel the plane along the runway and into the air where these would fold away in to the plane’s fuselage. A rocket motor would then accelerate it through the sound barrier and vertically upwards to an altitude of 35,000m. Finally, wing-mounted ramjets would push the Concorde 2 to its final cruising speed of Mach 4.5.
The designs, based on a patent awarded to Airbus in July, are of a sleek, futuristic aircraft – I am glad that they have kept the delta wing too, as we have recently seen the final flights of the last V Bomber.
Apparently, the smooth bubble-shaped outline will also make the aircraft quieter, cutting down the volume of the infamous sonic boom as the plane breaches the sound barrier.
The hypersonic jet might not not only cut down trans-Atlantic journey times – it could also potentially cross the Pacific from LA to Tokyo in just three hours.
However not all its specifications improve on the original Concorde. It will only carry 20 passengers who will be sitting in hammocks according to the video. I can see your monied travellers happy with the cut in travel time, but not too impressed by the lack of finery in the cabin.
Airbus says that the jet could also be used for military purposes, transporting soldiers at high speed, creating the ultimate rapid-reaction force – but I would imagine more than 20 soldiers at a time surely?
Check out Patent Yogi’s video and let me know your thoughts.
[youtube id=”0dyrbRGkVKI”]
