Hypersonic plane could fly from NY to LA in less than an hour

[Harry 1,076]

[float=left][/float] Boeing’s experimental X-51A WaveRider plane is set to make a 300 second experimental flight Tuesday.

 

That’s just five minutes, but to put it in perspective, the WaveRider could potentially fly from LA to NY in 46 minutes.

 

The plane travels at speeds in excess of 3,600 mph, or five times faster than the speed of sound

 

Read more: Source

[Via Garibaldi 8 8,594]

Wow... Now the real question is what would the price be to get on a flight if these planes were used for commercial purposes?

[trainfan22 1,754]

LOL! I remember hearing about this back in the 90s, saw on it a Channel 4 News.

 

I think about that news story every and now and then. I was wondering when there was gonna be a update on it.

 

However with that idea the aircraft was gonna travel via outer space to get to LA and vice versa.

 

This idea the aircraft seems to stay on earth.

Edited August 14, 2012 by trainfan22

[Shortline Bus 1,121]

[float=left][/float] Boeing’s experimental X-51A WaveRider plane is set to make a 300 second experimental flight Tuesday.

 

That’s just five minutes, but to put it in perspective, the WaveRider could potentially fly from LA to NY in 46 minutes.

 

The plane travels at speeds in excess of 3,600 mph, or five times faster than the speed of sound

 

Read more: Source

 

 

I am sure it will be similar to start for a while to the now old Concorde where it was something as much as $5,000 each way to fly between London and NY. In other words mainly only the rich, businessman and those in entertainment and sports field.

 

 

If this develops and becomes a success it will be a huge impact especially in the business and entertainment world. Thus for instance the NBA and NHL could reguarly play teams in Europe and ditto for MLB for teams in Japan/Asia and Latin America. Dont be suprised in 15 years or less IMO, the NY Yankees play the Tokyo Giants reguarly every season.

[East New York 4,046]

This is definitely something I have been waiting for!

[Brighton Express 567]

Damn that is something. I remember the Concorde, but this would be something else.

[Shortline Bus 1,121]

This is definitely something I have been waiting for!

 

 

No kiddie brother! Especially cutting down on 10-12 hours between NYC and places such as Syndey, Bangkok, Tokyo, Cario, Johannsburg, etc. just touching the surface.

[Quill Depot 1,570]

Is that a gas guzzler! Those tree-hugger people are gonna hate this one.

[Shortline Bus 1,121]

Damn that is something. I remember the Concorde, but this would be something else.

 

 

I remember as a young boy in summer of 1985 during the live aid concerts in both Philly and London, Former Gensis lead singer Phil Collins once made history. He was the 1st person to perform a major concert on 2 different continents in same day in both (Europe) and (North America).

[GojiMet86 4,698]

Here's an unfortunate update:

http://www.usatoday....30/1?csp=34news

 

 

Unmanned U.S. military hypersonic craft fails

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) – An unmanned experimental aircraft failed during an attempt to fly at six times the speed of sound in the latest setback for hypersonic flight.

The X-51A Waverider was designed to reach Mach 6, or 3,600 mph, after being dropped by a B-52 bomber off the Southern California coast on Tuesday. Engineers hoped it would sustain its top speed for five minutes, twice as long as an X-51A has gone before.

But the Air Force said Wednesday that a faulty control fin prevented it from starting its exotic scramjet engine and it was lost.

"It is unfortunate that a problem with this subsystem caused a termination before we could light the scramjet engine," Charlie Brink of the Air Force Research Laboratory at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, said in a statement.

During the first flight of an X-51A in 2010, it reached near five times the speed of sound for three minutes.

There's only one X-51A vehicle left. The Air Force has not decided whether it will fly.

The Waverider successfully detached from the B-52 and fired the rocket booster as planned. Then its scramjet engine was supposed to take over as it attempted to climb to Mach 6. But that never happened. Fifteen seconds after separating from the rocket booster, the Waverider lost control, preventing a test of the scramjet engine.

"All our data showed we had created the right conditions for engine ignition and we were very hopeful to meet our test objectives," Brink said.

The Pentagon has been testing hypersonic technologies in hopes of delivering strikes around the globe within minutes.

It was the latest failure for the Waverider program. A test flight last year ended prematurely with an X-15A trying to restart its engine until it plunged into the Pacific Ocean.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

[realizm 4,456]

Just read it this morning in the Daily News, in the paper stated the reason for the failure is because of problems with the fins malfunctioning before the jets kicked in.

 

Edit: Never mind, GojiMet got to it before I did with that posted article. I just saw it in the newspaper this morning.

Edited August 16, 2012 by realizm