Posted on 08/04/2020 2:40:46 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Virgin Galactic announced in May that it would be partnering with NASA to work toward high-speed, high altitude point-to-point travel for commercial airline passengers. The plan is to eventually create an aircraft that can fly above 60,000 feet (the cruising altitude of the Concorde) and carry between 9 and 19 people per flight, with a cabin essentially set up to provide each of those passengers with either Business or First Class-style seating and service. One other key element of the design is that it can be powered by next-gen sustainable fuel for more ecological operation.
In some ways, this project has many of the same goals that NASA has with its X-59 Quiet Supersonic research aircraft. Both aim to inspire the industry at large to do more to pursue the development of high-Mach point-to-point travel, and Virgin says that one of its aims is to “act as a catalyst to adoption in the rest of the aviation community” by coming up with baseline “sustainable technologies and techniques.”
Another company working on supersonic flight, Boom Supersonic, is set to unveil and begin testing its XB-1 prototype at an event in October, and also recently announced a new partnership with Rolls-Royce to assist with the design and manufacture of the engines for its eventual Overture commercial plane.
(Excerpt) Read more at techcrunch.com ...
Very good!
That was my first thought. For 19 passengers? Make a distinction?
I wouldn’t be so harsh. Many of the things we now have were prohibitively expensive, but over time became available to everyone.
Just because we travel right now at 600 mph as airline passengers doesn’t mean we can’t someday travel at Mach 5.
We can dream, right?
All good and well, keep dreaming. Meanwhile they are dreaming of colonizing Mars, a ridiculous dream that will never happen.
Every step taken is a step in the right direction.........
The Wright Brothers were mocked too........
I will...I don’t have much longer (relatively speaking) so I probably either won’t see it or won’t be able to try it, but...I will keep dreaming.
Hydrogen is a nightmare to contain as a liquid the only way to have enough storage density for flight. Jets need liquid high density fuels that’s limited by physics. There is a few processes to turn “sustainable” carbon sources into.
Ethanol aka food the worse way to go.
Butanol is a better higher C number alcohol which can be made from any cellulose not food via ABE fermentation as was done on a massive scale during WWII to make synthetic butadine rubbers aka synthetic rubber tires.
Fun fact any car with OBDII technology on board can run on 100% butanol with zero modifications. Butanol has a 100+ octane rating as well as being hydrophilic unlike ethanol it won’t absorb water from the air so no corrosion of the metals in the fuel system. And it’s compatible with all neoprenes and synthetic rubber think fuel lines and O rings. Its air fuel ratio is so close to stock gasoline the ECU won’t throw a code for lean mixture. Its a drop in gallon for gallon replacement for gasoline it’s energy density per gallon is 110,000 btu vs 115,000 of gasoline that you currently get at the pump so the distance on a full tank is effectively the same since its over 100 octane allows for modern vehicles to run slightly lean without fear of detonation no more rich mixture to prevent knocking.
With unlimited nuke power on carriers the Navy came up with a way to make syngas from seawater and FT synthesis it to alkenes, in land with a nuke plant next to an ocean for cooling anyways you could make massive amounts of jet fuel literally out of seawater. They say $6 per gallon which is WAY cheaper than fuel delivered via tanker to the middle of the ocean for flight ops via underway replenishment currently that fuel is upwards of $400 a gallon when delivered to a FOB in theater having a fuel maker on ship or at the outpost if on a shoreline would cut the logistics and wars are won with logistics ask the Germans about that it’s why they lost WWII.
Given the terrible quality of service with air travel these days, I would expect slightly better service on this type of flight. Business class passengers will get peanuts while first class passengers get mix nuts. Special care will be given to NFL & NBA players and anyone associated with bLM. The flight attendant will personally remove Brasil nuts from the mix nuts so they are not offended.
Only one question before I buy one: Can it take off and land (in one piece) on a 3500 foot runway?
So the flight attendant. ... Welcome to BLM Airlines. ..
....would you like a Eskimo Pie? ....racist
How about Aunt Jemima pancakes? ....racist
.......... Really hate these people
“Butanol has a 100+ octane rating as well as being hydrophilic unlike ethanol it won’t absorb water from the air so no corrosion of the metals in the fuel system.”
Wouldn’t you want butanol to be hydrophobic?
The Rolls Royce that will filing for Bankruptcy protection in the 12 months?
What is Virgin doing for Money?
Are these people trying to out “SQUIRREL!!!” Elon?
Nobody can out “SQUIRREL!!!!” Elon.
This will work or it won’t fly. The Concord was boondoggle because England and France paid these flights. The Concord never paid for itself, never did. This has to paid itself or its bankrupt.
That was my point, and it probably won’t. TY.
They should have it nailed in about five years. Wait, what?
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/skylon/index
mt wife and i and the children flew Concorde from London Heathrow to Dulles many years ago [c.1990] and the tickets cost us around an additional one thousand dollars each. of course, the price reflected an arrangement that Cunard had with British Airways Concorde, as we had also paid for our voyage from New York to Southampton on the Queen Elizabeth 2.
Cunard did have a special once that the return flight on Concorde was only an incredible $350 each, if you had booked the QE2 the other way. fantastic deal that i wish i had pursued.
my wife’s cousin worked in the states for British Airways and when his tour was over here, he got to fly back home to London on Concorde for free.
my wife.
Concorde carried 100 passengers, 2 abreast.
i meant 2 seats on each side of a single aisle.
You were really in a good position you probably consider it one of life’s wins. Anyone who has flown to Europe knows it is a miserably long flight. I have thought it is crazy that at this point there are no super sonic passenger aircraft for overseas flights.
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