High-speed Concept

Canadian engineer, Charles Bombardier, unveils a new high-speed aircraft concept that can travel at speeds of up to Mach 10--five times the speed of the fastest commercial jet today, the Concorde. Dubbed The Skreemr, the four-winged scramjet would employ a railgun launching system, similar to how Japan's maglev trains work--which allow the train carriage to levitate to avoid friction, allowing the jet to launch at incredible speeds. Simultaneously, it will ignite liquid oxygen and two kerosene rockets to increase altitude and accelerate at an estimated 7,673 miles per hour.

Future of Air Travel

While still at the very early conceptual stage, The Skreemr is a pioneering model for air travel that can significantly change the efficiency of commercial flying. "The Skreemr would be used as a commercial aircraft to fly from one continent to the next. It would fly five times faster than the Concorde and it could carry around 75 passengers," Bombardier says. Hypothetically, this could bring passengers from New York to London in just half an hour. Despite the engineer's enthusiasm for its potential however, technological challenges surrounding supersonic air travel are evident. These include finding affordable material that can withstand the extreme heat that the Skreemr's acceleration will create, as well as launching the jet while protecting the passengers from g-force.

 

 


Share This Article