London to New York in Two Hours

Eight years after the Concorde was retired due to low passenger numbers and high maintenance costs, A British firm has unveiled plans to build a supersonic plane that would be twice as fast as the Concorde and far more environmentally friendly.

HyperMach announced its plan for the SonicStar Aircraft at the Paris Air Show last week, which could potentially cut airline travel time by 75 percent.

A trip from London to New York would take a mere two hours while passengers travelling from London to Sydney would reach their destination in just three and a half hours.

The aircraft is expected to cost around £60 million (US$96.48 million) to build and has an expected completion date by 2025.

Part of the cost will be borne by the British Government, which have agreed to help the company to get established, while Hypermach is also likely to seek a possible partnership with one of the giants of the British aerospace sector.

"Mankind has always been inspired to do things better, quicker and faster and that is our ambition,” said Hypermach Chief Executive Richard Lugg.

“We have access to revolutionary engine technology and a unique very high speed aircraft design to make this kind of earth-shatteringly fast air travel possible.”

The 20-seat aircraft is expected to cater towards the rich and the wealthy, though numerous technological advancements present within the plane could make its way down to the entire industry.

Its radical new engine concept in particular is seen to be the next step forward for commercial aircrafts.

"Engine development is at a glass ceiling, said Mr. Lugg. “For the past 20 years we have been seeing improvements of and a half per cent or 1 per cent a year. But because of what is happening with the volatility of oil prices, engine efficiency has become a critical issue. Someone is going to have to take a leap forward rather than small steps."

       Selman TENGÜZ

   Wednesday, May 18, 2011

       Talip BÖLÜKBAŞI

   Thursday, May 19, 2011