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Flying may become more expensive for most of us, and many trips will be replaced by Zoom calls, but there will still be a need or desire for some people to make physical trips in future.
Recently Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic unveiled a design for a high-speed aircraft designed to travel at Mach 3, three times the speed of sound. The company has been working towards commercial spaceflight for a number of years, and is now looking to other applications for the technology it is developing.
It has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Rolls-Royce. The two companies will collaborate in designing and developing engine propulsion technology for high-speed commercial aircraft. The craft would have capacity for between nine and 19 people, and would fly at an altitude of more than 60,000ft – all powered by sustainable aviation fuel.
George Whitesides, Virgin Galactic’s chief space officer, said the company wanted to open up a new frontier in high-speed travel. He said: “We are excited to complete the mission concept review and unveil this initial design concept of a high-speed aircraft, which we envision as blending safe and reliable commercial travel with an unrivalled customer experience.”
Concorde’s successor
If successful – and it will be many years before such an aircraft is ready for commercial passenger use – it would mark a return to speeds not seen since the demise of Concorde, and carry people to their destination much faster than existing vehicles. Virgin Galactic’s management said that a Mach 3 jet would make round-trip travel in one day feasible for 85% of the world’s most popular airline routes – although jetlag might make that undesirable.
Gobbling-up fuel
There are also serious environmental concerns – Concorde burned around 6,700 gallons of fuel per hour, and according to the International Council on Clean Transportation next-generation supersonic jets are likely to burn up to seven times more fuel than comparable subsonic jets.
Perhaps the biggest question, though, is one of cost – even if Virgin can build a fast, safe way of getting from London to New York in two or three hours, will anyone actually be able to afford the tickets?
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.