Hypersonic jet could travel at 3900mph

AVIATION giants Boeing have released images of a “hypersonic” jet which could take passengers between New York and London in a couple of hours.

Travelling at Mach 5, five times the speed of sound, the jet would cruise at 95,000ft – up to 60,000ft higher than standard airliners.

That altitude maximizes the efficiency of engines and keeps turbulence to a minimum as air density is much lower that far up.

The speed of sound is 767mph and anything above that is judged to be “supersonic”.

This aircraft – revealed at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference in Atlanta – would be five times as fast, with a top speed of 3900mph.

Concorde – which stopped flying in 2003 – had a top speed of 1354 mph and could complete the journey between London and New York in just under three-and-a-half hours. Standard BY KEITH McLEOD k.mcleod@dailyrecord.co.uk airliners take about seven hours on the route.

Boeing say hypersonic jets could be airborne in “20 or 30 years”, depending on the progress of the project.

Kevin Bowcutt, Boeing’s chief scientist of hypersonics, said: “We are excited about the potential of hypersonic technology to connect the world faster than ever before.

“This aircraft would allow you to fly across the ocean and back in one day.”

Experts say a Mach 5 aircraft can be built cheaper than planes that go Mach 6, 7, or 8 as they use readily available titanium for their structure instead of materials such as composite ceramics to manage the heat produced at higher speeds.

Boeing’s proposal would also use a relatively simple pairing of a jet engine and a ramjet, called a turboramjet, instead of less-proven scramjet engines required for faster aircraft.