- The proposed Boeing aircraft is capable for travelling at almost 4,000mph
- The aircraft will cruise at 95,000 feet – where the air is much thinner
- The concept jet will not be ready for service for at least 20 years it is believed
It travels at almost three times the speed of Concorde and could slash the flight time of a trip to New York to just two hours.
Boeing is developing an aircraft capable of travelling at almost 4,000mph – up to five times the speed of sound.
The jet – which has not yet been named – may reach the incredible speed, in part, by cruising at 95,000 feet where the air is much thinner than at the usual jetliner cruising height of 30,000 feet. But those hoping for a quick dash across the Atlantic for a weekend of shopping on 5th Avenue will have to wait a few years yet. The aircraft won’t be ready for service for at least 20 years.
Boeing’s new proposed jet will travel at around 3,900mph at an altitude of 95,000 feet
Concorde, pictured, was able to fly from London to New York in around three hours
The concept jet was unveiled at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aviation 2018 conference in Atlanta – and will also be shown off at the Farnborough air show next month. Capable of getting across the Pacific in just three hours, it could bring back an age of regular super-fast travel that ended when Concorde – which had a top speed of more than 1,300mph – ceased flying in 2003.
The huge Airbus A380, which takes just under eight hours to fly from London to New York, hits a top speed of just over 630mph while most fighter jets can reach speed of more than 2,500mph. Sound travels at 767mph.
Industry experts speculate the new Boeing could use a conventional turbofan engine capable of a wide range of speeds for take-off. This could be bypassed at high speed, with power instead coming from a ramjet – a type of engine that uses its own forward motion to compress incoming air and generate thrust and is currently used in some missiles.
Kevin Bowcutt, Boeing’s hypersonics chief, said: ‘We’re excited about the potential of hypersonic technology to connect the world faster than ever before.
‘Supersonic isn’t really fast enough to go overseas and back in one day. For the business traveller or the military, that’s an interesting point. Mach 5 is where you can do that. Boeing is building upon a foundation of six decades of work designing, developing and flying experimental hypersonic vehicles.’
Other groups – including Boeing’s Toulouse-based rival Airbus – are racing to bring back supersonic air travel. Boeing has said its jet could be used by the military.
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