Brett Vance, Host of Jet Jockeys, Examines the Possibility of New HyperSonic Aircraft

USA - English

• USA - English

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Future flight times from New Delhi to New York City could take as little as 2 hours, states a report from Boeing and NASA.

The companies have partnered to develop supersonic and hypersonic planes, which will be expected to be unveiled over the coming years. "In about two decades, we are expected to use technology which will have ramjets, and fliers will be able to reach New York in as little as 2 hours from New Delhi," explains Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice-President of Boeing, "Boeing is currently working on the research and development for the required technology and is studying the engine propulsion requirements."

"All the airplanes, at present, are subsonic. This means they fly below the speed of sound," continues Keskar, "There are some supersonic airplanes, which are mostly fighter planes. The biggest challenge (in building super/hypersonic planes) is the engine propulsion right now, where the R&D is going on."

"Hypersonic passenger air travel—what a fantastic goal. So easy to say… so hard to do!" exclaims Jet Jockeys Host Brett Vance. "Note that there are several designers with supersonic transports in development. First test flights—in fact—are planned for the prototypes in a couple of years. This article predicts first flights for the hypersonic vehicle in around 5-10 years, with fleet fielding in twenty. That should give you a huge clue that there are significant technical challenges."

Jet Jockeys is a docu-reality series, where test pilot and host Brett Vance does for aviation enthusiasts what Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs has done for the dignity of the trades; what Neil deGrasse Tyson of Cosmos has done for our sense of wonder about our universe; and what The Robertson Family of Duck Dynasty has done for family.

"Recall that the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, (technology from the 1960s) flew operationally at speeds of Mach 3+. So that's the good news. We've been flying at high-speed for quite a while now." continues Vance. "Note too, some development programs which are focused on missile technology. See the X-60A research vehicle by Generation Orbit and the Air Force Research Laboratory. And there's even the planned Mach 6 SR-72. Big picture: we will learn a lot from these military technologies that will transfer to the civilian sector over time."

Boeing had first unveiled its plan to develop hypersonic planes at the Aviation and Aeronautics Forum 2018, where it said that the company was working on "designing, developing and flying experimental hypersonic vehicles". While the use of such planes at mass scale will take about two decades, Boeing feels the prototype could be used in about five to 10 years. According to the company's plans, their hypersonic plane can travel at a speed of Mach 5 (or 6,125 km/hour) which would help it to cross the Atlantic Ocean in two and Pacific Ocean in three hours.

Elaborating further on the plans, Keskar said that the idea is to make such planes affordable for travelers. "You can build engines today but still the flying cost will be so costly, say $1,00,000. How many people will pay that? So, the technology needs to advance," he said.

Keskar said that the company was using data analytics to study engine propulsion. The aircraft, which would fly at an altitude of 95,000 feet, would carry 20 to 100 passengers. Apart from Boeing, Boom Supersonic, Aerion Supersonic and Spike Aerospace are planning supersonic planes with speed in the range of Mach 1.6 to 2.2. All of these envision to fly their first flight in 2023.

"Our major challenges are in materials needed to withstand the high dynamic pressures encountered in a passenger-plane shaped vehicle, as well as major advances in engine technology." concludes Vance. "Can we go fast? You bet! Can we go fast and go cheap? Not yet. Watch the developments in military hypersonics, and keep your eye on civilian hypersonic transport news. We are about to be astounded."

SOURCE Jet Jockeys