British aerospace firm Reaction Engines is currently
working on a hypersonic aircraft that would herald a new era and bright future
for commercial air travel at Mach 5 speeds.
With 50 per cent funding by the European Union, or about
US$14 million, this project, if successfully launched, could slash travel times
drastically, so a flight from Brussels to Sydney would take only about a little
over four hours.
Codenamed the LAPCAT, short for Long-term Advanced
Propulsion Concepts and Technologies, Reaction Engines has designed an A2
configuration jet with a seating capacity for 300 passengers that makes use of
its in-house Scimitar engine which runs on liquid hydrogen.
Not only is this jet environmentally friendly, it is easy on
your pocket as well, as the company expects average ticket prices to be
comparable to the price of a Business class ticket today.
www.reactionengines.co.uk
via robbreport.com