The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company has patented a revolutionary aircraft that leaves every other supersonic jet far behind.
At a cruising speed of Mach 4.5, it puts even the fastest Concorde to shame. The sonic boom created by this aircraft is surprisingly less than that of the Concorde.
The aircraft is equipped with two ram-jets under its delta wings, a pair of Turbo-jets under the front part of the fuselage and a rocket engine at the rear end of the fuselage.
The turbo-jets are used for propelling the aircraft during taxiing and take-off. The passengers and the crew are placed in hammocks for improved comfort.
Once the aircraft climbs to a certain altitude, the turbo-jets are retracted into the fuselage. At this point, the rocket engine is ignited at full power causing the aircraft to travel vertically like a rocket at supersonic speeds. Because of this vertical trajectory, the energy of the supersonic boom is dissipated in all horizontal radial directions and does not encounter the ground.
The ingenuity that makes higher supersonic speeds possible lies in the pair of fins situated on the outer ends of the delta wings. At speeds less than MACH 1, these fins are oriented horizontally. However, once the speed exceeds MACH 1, the fins are oriented vertically. This causes the centre of pressure to be maintained at the same point and thus providing greater stability.
After reaching a very high altitude, the aircraft curves into a horizontal trajectory at which point the rocket engine is powered off and closed by a door to make it streamlined. The ram jets are then ignited and the aircraft is propelled horizontally at supersonic speeds.
At 4.5 mach, you can reach from London to NY in 1 hr. Currently it takes a 7 hrs flight. The flight path of this aircraft technically makes it the highest roller coaster in the world. Let me know in the comments below, how many of you would consider a roller coaster ride while traveling around the world.
Patent Information:
Patent Number – US 9,079,661
Patent Title – Ultra-rapid air vehicle and related method for aerial locomotion
Inventors: Prampolini; Marco, Coraboeuf; Yohann
Assignee: ASTRIUM SAS (Paris, FR);
EUROPEAN AERONAUTIC DEFENCE AND SPACE COMPANY–EADS FRANCE (Paris, FR)
Appl. No.: 13/516,878
Filed: December 20, 2010
Abstract
The invention concerns an ultra-rapid air vehicle together with a method of aerial locomotion by means of an ultra-rapid air vehicle, where the air vehicle is propelled by a system of motors formed of turbojets (TB1, TB2), ramjets (ST1, ST2) and a rocket motor which can be made streamlined to reduce the drag of the base during the cruise phase, and where the vehicle has a gothic delta wing (A) fitted with moving fins (a1, a2) at both outer ends of the trailing edge of the delta wing (A).
Patent document available here – http://1.usa.gov/1RTvMMr
