The Antipode jet which is a new concept jet could streak from London to New York in 20 minutes, which is faster than travelling from central London to the suburbs.
The plane would travel at supersonic speeds after take off, which would probably feel more like blast off, and would ultimately reach an acceleration of a staggering 24 times the speed of sound.
The inspiration behind the creation of the jet is Canadian designer Charles Bombardier.
His design would see a new technique called “long penetration mode” used to help the plane reach speeds many times faster than current jets are capable of.
This would involve air channels in the plane being used to cool the jet’s surfaces and reduce the noise of the sonic boom produced when the plane breaks the sound barrier. It would allow the Antipode to handle the intense heat created by an object moving so quickly.
The rocket boosters used to help the plane reach altitude would be ditched at 40,000 feet and would then fly back to the airport to be reused.
The jet would seat ten passengers and take off from a normal airport runway. It would then apparently use rocket boosters to climb to 40,000 feet and then deploy its “supersonic combustion ramjet engine” to reach speeds of Mach 24 – ten times faster than Concorde and 21 times the speed of sound.
Mr. Bombardier told the media that, the idea of going from New York to London in about 20 minutes really grabbed people’s attention.
The jet would seat ten passengers and take off from a normal airport runway. It would then apparently use rocket boosters to climb to 40,000 feet and then deploy its “supersonic combustion ramjet engine” to reach speeds of Mach 24 – ten times faster than Concorde and 21 times the speed of sound.
Each plane would have a set of emergency boosters to help slow it down and to provide enough thrust to allow it to attempt a second landing should the first landing, which involves gliding down the wings, fail.
However Mr. Bombardier admits that a lunch hour trip across the Atlantic by the Antipode remains on hold now. The Antipode is currently little more than an idea, designed to provoke discussion.
