Posted on 08/05/2015 9:13:57 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Airbus has won a patent for a hypersonic passenger plane, but Concorde’s hydrogen-powered successor is unlikely to leave the drawing board any time soon.
The proposed aeroplane would cut the journey time from Paris to Tokyo from 12 to under three hours. The idea, first published in 2011, is to use three different kinds of engine power to jump above the atmosphere while still using regular runways for takeoff. It has now won approval from the US Patent Office.
The concept comes as commercial space companies such as Virgin Galactic pursue plans for low-level space flights. Airbus’s proposed plane has “gothic delta wings” that echo the elegant curves of Concorde.
But Airbus dampened any hopes of a quick return to the days of the Anglo-French supersonic jet, which was taken out of service in 2003 owing to high operating costs.
“Airbus Group and its divisions apply for hundreds of patents every year in order to protect intellectual property,” a spokesman said. “These patents are often based on R&D concepts and ideas in a very nascent stage of conceptualisation, and not every patent progresses to becoming a fully realised technology or product.”(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
...and get shot down over Russia in 90 minutes.
So they are basically patenting an idea?
whattabunchacrap.
I’d rather spend 40 days on a cruise ship and save some money.
The idea, first published in 2011, is to use three different kinds of engine power to jump above the atmosphere while still using regular runways for takeoff. It has now won approval from the US Patent Office.It reads as if Airbus is getting the patents in order to keep this out of the skies. Thanks 2ndDivisionVet.
IF, big IF, Airbus were to get a hypersonic airliner into service, can you just imagine the cost of the tickets! Near the end of Concorde SST service, I believe the one way ticket price was about 5 times the price of a ticket on a non-supersonic aircraft. Thus, A $2,000 one way ticket on a regular aircraft would be $10,000 on Concorde. That’s why Concorde got the reputation as the aircraft of the rich and famous. A hypersonic jet would be more expensive than Concorde.
You go right ahead. Flew out of CHL yesterday on a 321 Airbus. Had my headphones on during takeoff and took them of due to hellacious loud noise. It was the left engine and sounded like it was going to explode. Once we got some altitude, it was not as loud. Thought the turbine blades would explode. Never heard that noise in a Boeing.
Then on landing at DFW the whole thing rattled like a barn in a tornado. Piece of crap composite fall apart plane.
Did I mention I hate US air?
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