Canadian engineer Charles Bombardier proposed concept of a four-winged scramjet called The Skreemr that could get you from New York to London in just 30 Minutes. This jet could carry passengers at 10 times the speed of sound and fly at an altitude of 100,000 feet.
Unfortunately, the design is purely conceptual and the designers admit that it’s unlikely to ever be realised, due to the current limitations of scramjet technology. But it’s still a pretty cool glimpse into what we could one day achieve with air travel.
The concept involves a four-winged screamer jet, aptly called the “Skreemr,” and can fly at an altitude of 10,000 feet, at 10x the speed of sound.
Traveling at speeds up to 12,250 km/h, is just one reason the jet could carry passengers in that speed.
Once propelled forward by the launch system, two rockets would kick in, burning liquid-oxygen and kerosene to boost or maintain the scramjet at Mach 4, depending on how effective the launch is. This requires a little bit of liquid oxygen to be stored on board, but at Mach 4 the scramjet engine would fire up, and the jet would then be able to run using just the oxygen outside the planet to combust hydrogen fuel.
“It might be possible to skip the rocket part which would be in use from maglev launch to the scramjet ignition,” writes Bombardier, “but this would depend on two things: the materials used to withstand the heat and pressure on the aircraft, and the acceleration that could be sustained by the occupants of the aircraft.”
His vision for the passenger plane was brought to life by designer Ray Mattison, and the plans show the futuristic-looking design travelling along the maglev track before shooting into the air.
Source : Thrillist