JP
Like many people, I haven’t yet finished sighing over the demise of Concorde. I’d never actually travelled on one – which again makes me like many people – but it symbolised a whole lot more than crossing the Atlantic while being squashed into a tiny cabin. Man’s eternal reaching for greater achievements, that sort of thing. Plus it had a bloody great pointy nose, which was pretty damn cool.
Nonetheless, there are some whose primary concern is the lack of very fast travel (preferably while drinking gin at the time), and for those individuals rich enough a new breed of supersonic private jet has emerged. Wired News writes about one such example: the 130 foot QSST (Quiet SuperSonic Travel), winged brainchild of the Supersonic Aerospace International consortium. Capable of 4,600 miles nonstop flight and doing LA to NYC in a tinkle over two hours, the $2.5bn project could be ready by 2013.
The likelihood of any of us clambering onboard one of these uber-jets is pretty slim, and with that – despite all their engineering mastery – to my mind they fall short of the legacy left by Concorde. For while it was never exactly a cheap ride, it was still an achieveable possibility for the everyman; a chance, with some saving, to break the sound barrier with no more fuss than that required to open airline peanuts.
New York to L.A. in Two Hours [Wired News]
20 Responses to “Supersonic Private Jets”
Nathan McKelvey September 1, 2006
The Citation X currently holds the title of the fastest business jet and is one of the most popular charter planes. I would suspect strong demand for such a private jet.
NeutralFacebook User September 1, 2006
Agreed. For business time is money, such private jet would cuts down travel time and not many people likes to sit on a plane :)
+2Nathan Wilcox February 13, 2007
It’s like a modern XF-11. Speed-speed-speed…
Pretty soon, other planes will have to be brought up to its level.
NeutralBWilde February 13, 2007
Sound “barrier”?
There is no such thing and there never was…
What an archaic term.
BWilde
-2ike February 13, 2007
Of course there’s a sound barrier….sound cannot travel faster than it, hence it’s a barrier to SOUND
+1John February 13, 2007
I’ve got 4 or 5 of those laying around in the backyard…seriously though, that is pretty sic. They should do the episode of digg on that baby instead of Virgin.
John
Neutralhttp://www.monomachines.com
gault February 13, 2007
aviation has a long history of unfulfilled expectations. when i see this neat plane fly (but don’t hear the boom,) i will be convinced.
…and the speed of sound varies depending upon the medium through which it is being propagated so it is a pretty vague term. compare speed at sea level and high altitude.
Neutralhaha February 13, 2007
ur all gay lol
+1Sillypickle February 13, 2007
@Bwilde
Never was such a thing as a sound barrier? For a long time it was considered nearly impossible to fly faster than sound, because nobody could figure out how to build a plane that wouldn’t be ripped to shreds by the vibration that occurs when you approach the speed of sound. That’s why it was called the sound barrier.
NeutralJohn February 13, 2007
You hit the nail right on the head. Ever since the demise of the Concorde, I have felt like mankind has been taking “giant leaps” backwards!
This news is very encouraging… and could usher in a whole new era of supersonic transportation (assuming the QSST gets off the ground AND doesn’t get limited to trans-oceanic travel by its sonic boom).
Thanks for haring
Neutralthis is news? February 13, 2007
Every airplane design that can be designed has been designed already by a slide-rule. whoopdeewhoo.
2012 ? Yeah, sounds like a sure thing. Billion dollars? BILLION? Rutan can make this out of a few toilet paper tubes and a rotax 912.
BTW: speed of sound changes depending on density, temperature, pressure, etc… I can run faster than the speed of sound at 200,000 feet.
Neutraljodouin February 13, 2007
What the cack? that’s insane. The sound barrier is in the pacific ocean! you can see it pretty well in scuba gear.
Neutralgohan February 13, 2007
gotta luv those related products… go goku!!
NeutralJulie Ann February 13, 2007
amazing plane, but it will take away my flight time which i enjoyed!
NeutralCorvidae February 14, 2007
Concorde wasn’t limited to Oceanic flight just because of it’s boom (Although that was the largest factor.) The other problem was that even at low speeds it made a 747 sound like a whisper. I’ve stood under the runway as it landed in Miami years ago, and I’ve only heard two aircraft that were louder. The space shuttle and the SR-71. Nothing else I’ve seen is really in the same league for noise, they’re all very audible from miles away even when they’re sitting on the ground.
NeutralSkips February 14, 2007
[quote comment="18168"]
BTW: speed of sound changes depending on density, temperature, pressure, etc… I can run faster than the speed of sound at 200,000 feet.[/quote]
I’d like to see you run at 200,000 feet…
Neutral