Hypersonic airliner in development

[Chris558]

There was a piece about this a few nights ago on our local TV news. It is being designed at the Culham centre for fusion energy, Oxfordshire, by Reaction Engines Ltd. I can't see it ever being viable, let-alone getting government funding. Nice that it's being designed in the UK though.

A couple of links...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16090841
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ0ZUnJs5sg

[Garry Russell]

Quite a few years back there was excitement about HOTOL...then silence.

Reality is there has always been futuristic designs well ahead of the contemporary product but they remain on paper.

Still...it mean that there is development thinking and out of so many of these things something worthwhile comes out of it...if they stick with it long enough.

[Chris558]

I thought the future, a while ago, was going to be aircraft using the magnetic fields instead of gas-turbine engines. Like levitation, and being able to reach Aussie land in something like...40 minutes!!!???

[TSR2]

The British company developing the engines have already successfully tested their advanced cooling system and secured government funding! It ingenious...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20510112

[Garry Russell]

McDonnell Douglas...or was it just Douglas in the sixties planned LA-Sydney in about 40 minuets but using a sub orbital vehicle which was basically a fat rocket.

Of course by the year 2,000 we would all go round in Hover cars and monorails wearing our bespoke silver suits..oh and computers will have taken over much of our work (which they did) and we would be all sharing jobs by working half the week for twice as much as we get for a week, that bit didn't quite work out as the bosses pocketed the difference and more

[Chris558]

I'd put money on flying cars...remember that James May TV programme?

[Garry Russell]

By the year 2000???

[NigelC]

I always thought materials was the hold back on hypersonic aircraft. Hence, with a couple of exceptions, the top end of about Mach 2.5 on military aircraft has stayed pretty much constant for the 50 years. If there were suitable materials, they'd be prohibitively expensive.

[basys]

I'm sure they can travel the distance in that time,
however,
deccelerating to stopped is another matter entirely.

Maybe someone should also be asking
where they're genuinely intending travelling to/from thats 20,000km distant.

[Garry Russell]

Maybe someone should also be asking
where they're intending travelling to/from thats 20,000km distant.

Hopefully the inlaws...but of course we'd be in no hurry